Hi there,
I've got about 300 hours in the game so far, and I can't wait to do a few more run-throughs when the next patch releases. I love this game to bits.
Having said that, there is really only one aspect of the game I thoroughly, and I can't stress that enough, *thoroughly* dislike and I feel like is needlessly and arbitrarily taking away so much from the D&D experience. I am talking, of course, about Reactions.
To preface this - this is not due to some misguided purist notions that D&D rules are sacred and can't be reinterpreted. Not at all. By all means, where a change makes the game more fun and where it makes sense, sure. But I really struggle to see any objective reasoning behind having Reactions implemented the way they are.
And another thing - I will not just explain in detail why I think the current implementation of Reactions is so, so bad, I will attempt to provide an idea of how it could work - and I don't think it would be difficult to implement at all. That last statement contains a degree of presumption on my part, but I am also a software engineer.
So, without further ado, let's break the Reactions down:
1. Why are they so, so, *so* bad?
For one thing, they aren't really *reactions* at all. They are preset, conditional commands that are triggered as soon as an external agent or effect satisfies the preset condition. They are triggered automatically, you don't get to *react*. But besides semantics, this has profound negative implications not just for all Reaction spells, but for banal things like Attacks of Opportunity as well.
With the current system, I don't see how you can implement a Counterspell at all, which makes me think Larian doesn't intend to, and I would just say a Wizard without a Counterspell isn't a Wizard at all. If you would want to implement it with the current system, how would you predetermine the level at which you want to cast it, a crucial thing about casting a Counterspell? And even if you somehow got around that, nothing would guarantee that it wouldn't just eat up a cantrip, or some lousy spell you really don't want to spend a spell slot countering.
But it's not just Counterspell, it renders most Reaction spells almost useless, or at the very least reduces their relevance and usability severely.
We don't currently have many examples in the game but take Hellish Rebuke - another good example. A spell that could be an excellent way to burst a tough foe down by casting multiple spells on it in a single turn, but in the current implementation, it's a spell that costs a spell slot that could be eaten up by a goblin trash mob standing next to an ogre for which the spell is intended. Same thing with Riposte.
It gets even worse when you get to classes that have multiple reactions, such as Wizards. Larian said something like, "With a Wizard, you will toggle of your Attacks of Opportunity and toggle on your Shield". Note Larian conveniently leaving out any mention of Counterspell. But besides that, why would I have to toggle off my Attacks of Opportunity? If I didn't use my Shield for the current round cuz I wasn't attacked, and the last foe in the initiative order is moving away from me, I want to do that Attack of Opportunity. At any given turn, I want to be able to use any of my Reactions when they are triggered, and I want the option of not reacting, cuz I am maybe saving my Reaction for something more dangerous or more opportune.
To sum things up - the current implementation of Reactions brings absolutely nothing to the table that makes the game more fun, and it takes away so many strategic choices that would make this game a much more multidimensional and rewarding experience. The difference between real Reactions and what we currently have is the difference between Magic the Gathering and Hearthstone, to put it in tcg terms. And this is not hating on Hearthstone, but there's a reason why MTG is MTG, and HS is not.
2. How to do it the right way?
It's actually pretty straightforward. When an event occurs that can trigger a Reaction, freeze the game in the appropriate place in the animation and offer the player a notification that says what triggered the Reaction, along with the list of characters that are able to react and the Reactions they are able to take. For each character, you are able to select a single reaction, but also you don't have to react if you don't want to. When you are happy with your Reaction selection(s), you click a confirmation button and the rest of the animation plays out. If the Reaction you are taking is a spell, you are able to select a level at which you are casting it, just like you usually would.
Now, let's play that out in a couple of scenarios so you get the picture:
A) A foe is standing next to one of my characters and tries to move away. The creature moves away to the edge of the range in which it provokes an Attack of Opportunity. Then, the creature's movement freezes, a pop-up shows up saying the creature triggered an AoO, and I can react by attacking it. I decide not to do it because there is also another, more dangerous, Frightened creature next to me and I would prefer to spend my Reaction on that. So, the creature unfreezes and just moves away.
B) A foe tries to cast Fireball with a 5th level spell slot on my party. It strikes the initial casting pose, then freezes. A pop-up shows up explaining what's happening, and I have a choice of reacting with my Wizard and my Warlock. They both have Counterspell. Because my Wizard is an Abjuror and I am feeling greedy, I decide I will not waste one of my Warlock's limited spell slots, or my Wizard's limited level 5 spell slots, so I try my luck and I try to counter it with a 3rd level Counterspell with my Wizard. The dice rolls and it fails. The creature plays out the rest of the spellcasting animation. My Wizard also plays a Counterspell animation, but it fizzles. The Fireball hits my party, the animation freezes, and there is another pop-up saying my Warlock is about to take fire damage and offering me to cast Absorb Elements as a Reaction. I do it. The animation unfreezes, Fireball blooms and my Warlock plays the Absorb Elements animation. In case the Counterspell worked, the creature's spellcasting would fizzle out, and my Wizard would successfully cast Counterspell (animation-wise). Also, imagine how cool that would look in the game.
3. Counterarguments
The only 2 counterarguments I can think of are that it is either too technically challenging to implement, or that it would slow the pace of the game down needlessly. As for the first one, I don't find that plausible, because I really don't see how hooking up some user interaction instead of reading from a preset configuration when a Reaction hook is triggered can be so problematic. As for the second one, I really don't mind the game "slowing down". I like that combat is turn-based and that I can take my time meticulously planning out my every step.
4. Compromises
To address potential concerns about the pacing of the game, multiple things could be done. For example, one could check a checkbox in the options that prevents Counterspell from being offered as a Reaction for cantrips. For characters that only have an AoO as a Reaction, you could toggle so they use it up the first time they can, without any prompting. You could even have a toggle that turns on the current UI for *Reactions*, allowing players to preset all their reactions for those who *really* prefer it this way, but I bet they are in a minority. It would allow people to tailor for themselves how they want to balance their game flow with their strategic options. As for me, I want to choose all of my Reactions manually every time.
Please, please, PLEASE fix the Reactions. It's gonna be a great game no matter what but it frustrates me that it can be so much more, and in my opinion what's preventing it from being more isn't some real technical obstacle, but wrong decision-making and faulty reasoning. I am not above begging, and I will beg if I have to. Please!
For the other players, if you are as frustrated with the current Reactions as I am, use this thread to make yourself heard, and hopefully, Larian will take our constructive feedback into consideration.
