Cantrips can be cast again freely. Casting a cantrip is a caster's version of swinging an axe. They both cost no resources and have the same chances of hitting, assuming equal stats.
For leveled spells, I agree with you [that balance could be improved]
I checked, it's two actions, one for rank one, one for one rank two spell, neither can be cast again until rest, neither can be cast in combat rendering them largely useless because you could just go to camp and sleep outside of combat.
I don't think we're understanding each other.
Casters have unlimited uses of cantrips: e.g., Acid Splash, Eldritch Blast, Firebolt, and Ray of Frost (spells you used as examples a few posts earlier). These are a casters' weakest spells, but in exchange they don't cost anything. These are the spellcaster-equivalent of swinging an axe: they deal slightly less damage but have magical damage types. Both take an action and don't cost other resources.
Leveled spells are different, as spellcasters can only cast a certain number of each level spell per long rest. These spells are more powerful than cantrips as a tradeoff for being limited usage. These are more equivalent to a fighter's Maneuvers, which are also limited.
I'm aware of that. You have to realise I'm not playing a level 4 character, I've started a new playthrough so I have to reload the save on the lvl 4 to check things. I might mix up some things now and then but the point stands. It's not fun. Spells are disinteresting, boring, they feel like I'm chucking a wet lettuce rather than a fireball and that's a moot point since the majority of the time I miss anyway, or I'm put to sleep, or I'm instantly killed by a single spell or ability, and on the odd occasion it does hit it does less damage than a bow does on average, although Witchbolt has a higher critical score than a light crossbow. At level 4 I have the following selection:
- Arcane Recovery (Action, cannot be cast in combat)
- Mage Hand (Cantrip, by and large useless)
- Ray of Frost (Cantrip: 1d8 plus slowed status)
- Fire Bolt (Cantrip 1d10)
- Acid Spalsh (Cantrip 1d6)
- Witch Bolt (Ranked skill 2d12 at rank 2)
- Fog Cloud (Ranked skill causes blind to everyone including your party making it extremely situational)
- Sleep (Ranked skill, supposed to put a group to sleep, you're lucky to get one to fall asleep.)
- Grease (ranked skill, causes those who enter to pass a check or fall over. Bosses never fall over.)
- Ray of sickness (ranked skill, 2d8)
- Feather Fall (stops you taking damage when pushed off a high area)
- Blurr (Makes you hard to hit. Doesn't work)
- Thunderwave (pushes multiple targets off high ground, including you're own party rendering the spell useless unless your wizard is alone)
- Mage Armour (increases armour rating for one turn. Not close to being long enough, by the time you get to use it you've taken large damaage). DOS2's netherswap, uncanny evasion, or erratic wisp were far more useful)
- Misty Step (one of the more useful spells, allows you to teleport to any area you can see)
- Scorching Ray (2d6 to three characters)
- Dark Vision (increases range)
- Reflective shell (reflects arrows back at the attacker, very useful but only lasts two turns)
You have three powerful spells, and a bunch of crowd control ones and you can't keep them all memorised. Of your powerful spells you get to cast one and only one rank two spell, and, if I remember right, one (definitely no more than two) rank 1 spells before you rely on Cantrips. Let's take
Featherfall for example. Great spell, very useful since Mages are best being placed high and risk being pushed off the high ground, and lasts 10 turns. The problem is it takes away your ability to then cast an offensive spell because at level 4 you only get 4 rank 1 spell slots and 3 rank 2 slots. Each spell takes a spell slot away so I can cast Featherfall, Mage Armour, and one and only one hard hitting spell before I'm spent. Two if I limit it to rank 1 spells. That doesn't give you a fun character to play, especially when coupled with the problem of missing more than you hit.
Compare this to DOS2:
- Electric Discharge (deals air damage and sets status Shocked for two turns meaning they skip two turns.
- Shocking touch (as above)
- Teleport (teleports another character. Can be used defensively to move a melee character away from you or offensively to drop them off a cliff)
- Uncanny evasion (provides 90% dodge chance and increases movement speed by 20%)
- Contamination (Poison damage)
- Fortify (Provides Armour/prevents teleportation)
- Impalement (Does physical damage, sets status 'crippled' and leaves an oil puddle which sets a further status of slow. If cast on an area on fire, will cause an explosion dealing additional damage, and set the character on fire dealing even more damage over time.)
- Worm Tremor (Does physical damage, poison damage and sets status 'entangled' for two turns preventing the character from moving.)
- Ice Fan (Fires three Ice spikes at up to three characters)
- Winter Blast (Does damage to character and set status 'Chilled' for 2 turns which reduces movement speed, dodging, and elemental resistance to water and air)
- Global Cooling (Does damage and, depending upon the surface, or when used in conjunction with other spells, can remove damaging surfaces and/or freeze a character so they miss one turn, and sets chilled status)
- Haste (Increases movement speed and adds an Action Point. Also clears slowed.)
- Ignition (Elemental Damage (fire) to all enemy targets in range)
- Searing Daggers (Same as Ice Fan but Fire damage)
- Spontaneous Combustion (Does fire damage after one turn)
- Fireball (Does a large amount of elemental damage as well as potentially setting the surface on fire, and sets the character on fire for two turns.)
- Fire Whip (Does a large amount of elemental damage, sets burning for one turn, sets blind for one turn)
- Laser Ray (Does a large amount of elemental damage to any character along the path and has the best range of any spell in the game. Sets burning for two turns which deals further damage.)
* N.B. The final two skills are low ranked but only available on the second map).
These spells are more interesting, do more damage, crowd control, and keeps your Mage alive. Best of all there is no limit to how many times they can be cast, only a limit to how often they can be cast, a far better way of handling things. Every one of those spells are available at up to level 4 in their appropriate category, easily attainable before you leave Fort Joy. Let's look at a non-Larian RPG, Dragon Age Origins:
- Grease (works the same as BG3's Grease.)
- Flame Blast (deals elemental (fire) damage to all enemies within the cone effect.)
- Arcane Bolt (deals spirit damage.)
- Arcane shield (reduces damage from melee attacks. Drains Mana.)
- Rock Armour (principally the same as DOS2's Fortify.)
- Winter's Grasp (deals elemental (cold) damage.)
- Lightning (deals elemental (lightning) damage.)
- Shock (deals elemental (lightning) damage to all enemies within the cone effect.)
- Gylph of Paralysis (essentially sets a trap where any characters walking into it will be paralysed for ten seconds.)
- Spell shield (prevents melee damage. Drains Mana.)
- Walking bomb (essentially works the same as DOS2's Spontaneous Combustion.)
- Drain Life (transfer HP from target to caster.)
- Paralyze (does what it says on the tin.)
N.B. In neither of the examples in the two games above have I have included any spells that would correspond better to a Warlock or a Cleric.
I picked these two games because they use two very different, but very effective systems to handle magic use and keep it balanced. DAO uses a Mana system, a pool of magic that drains with each spell and can be drained constantly by certain sustainable spells. Most RPGs operate a similar system. It can be replenished through the use of a potion. Both of these games use differing techniques to handle magic, both are substantially superior to what we have in BG3, both contain far more interesting and powerful spells. In DAO I can be chucking fireballs by the time I finish the prologue. This is what I meant when I said I don't feel powerful. The spell selection in BG3 is subpar in comparison to its peers. For obvious reasons I've not included high level skills and yet a Spellcaster in these games is a force to be reckoned with. The difference is the amount available to me at a low level, the chances they'll actually hit, and how much they hit for. In all three cases BG3 has the lowest compared to its peers. People will not be happy with that.
For example, rank 2 sleep is supposed to be able to put all characters to sleep within the circle, yet you'll be lucky if one goes to sleep and in my experience, boss creatures are immune. As I said in another reply last night, the first mage you fight in the game is immune and she's just a rank and file character. Even if I specialise my character in Damage dealing, I have a total of four spells, one of which can only be cast twice, and not at the same level of damage (assuming they hit which is more likely not than to). The ability for me to survive only lasts one turn, in DOS2 it lasts 3, in DAO (and its sequels) it's a sustained skill. Even
BG2 has more available skills at levels 1-4 than BG3 does so it's not a D&D thing, it's a game design decision and one that needs to be rethought.
...neither can be cast again until rest, neither can be cast in combat rendering them largely useless because you could just go to camp and sleep outside of combat.
I even more don't know what you mean here. If we are talking about Gale, at level 3 he can cast four level-1 spells and two level-2 spells times before needing to long rest. Even level 2 characters can still cast three level-1 spells per long rest. As long as you have the slots, you can cast the same spell multiple times and in combat.
Arcane recovery is limited to restoring two rank one spells and one rank two spell. For example, let's say you specialise Gale or your custom Wizard as a damage dealer. The ability allows you to recast Witch Bolt, for example, three more times but
only once you've exited combat. But once you're out of combat you can just go rest at camp and then return to the same point immediately afterward so why would I bother using that when a full rest will regenerate
all my spells? I'm essentially saying that you need the ability to regenerate the spells in combat, not just out of combat. Spellcasting - and I don't just means Wizards - in this game is not fit for purpose. Does that make it more clear? This game will be Dead on arrival if Larian release it with the current combat system. RPG players who love Wizards won't play because they have a small pool of spells that rarely hit, and don't do much damage when they do, and melee players will get frustrated at missing more often than they hit.
Creatures with summed HP up to 5d8 just fall asleep (unless they're immune). Sleep is a very powerful spell against low-HP enemies.
This is why Mages are susceptible to it. They tend to have the lowest HP. If I don't include a Mage in the party then Rogues will be next.
- The AI won't shove you often, you can do it as a bonus action. I typically play a ranged tactics.... the farther away they are from me the less likely they are to hurt me so there is very little opportunity to even do that.
The AI does, it simply limits it to the appropriate situation. Stand next to a hole, expect to be pushed in. Stand on a beam, expect to be pushed off. The AI does not push for the sake of pushing, e.g. on a flat surface.
- The AI is very bad to backstab your characters, players backstab at every turns.
Rogue characters will backstab, and more than a few of the Goblins are rogue class. What I haven't seen is the AI jumping or attempting to position themselves behind the player though.
All of this is a separate discussion, a matter of AI tuning, not combat system overhaul.
