I would like to see them do a couple things sooner rather than later. First just release one of the Origin companions as a playable MC (if that's the ultimate intention), so that people can evaluate the experience of what that actually entails, instead of just having it hang over everything in EA like an ominous cloud.

At the same time (same patch) allow for recruitment of Companions that are not Origins characters from the large pool of viable NPCs that already exists in the game. This would take pressure off the Origin characters to carry all the weight and all the wait during EA, and shift the dynamics of Act 1 into something that I think would be more flexible and also feel a bit more like BG. In both BG1 and BG2, virtually every area on the map that the player progressed through during the first third of the game housed NPCs that could be recruited into the party. So in BG2 practically every district of Athkatla had a recruitable NPC. In BG1 the road to Nashkell and then Baldur's Gate had the Player encountering recruitable NPCs just about everywhere along the way. BG1/2 companion NPCs didn't really need to blow our socks off, most just had a couple barks and a simple plot in, so allowing a similar recruiting scheme to exist in BG3 would be a nice call back to that. I think it's a big idea that's missing right now from BG3. If they put a system like that in place, then the MC could find other companions that don't quite overshadow them in the same way, and it would allow for more experimentation not just in characterization for the party, but also nuts and bolts builds. Showing the player many different types of possible characters with different builds backgrounds/class/aesthetics etc. I think it would help the custom PC to stand out, if for example there were a couple clerics or warlocks or fighters floating around who weren't the Origin exemplars. Every available class should probably have 2 examples among the recuitables in addition to the Origins. Don't have Astarion be the only rogue, give us a Sazza too and the Hooded Tief, that sort of thing. Don't have Gale be our only Wizard, give us 2 more. If the only Warlock we meet is Wyll, then playing as a Warlock yourself doesn't feel particularly special, but if there were another pair of Warlocks somewhere that we could recruit from among the NPCs, then it suddenly feels less like Wyll's exclusive territory and rather more open, if that makes sense. For class archetypes, show us 2 B-team examples for every A-team Origin example. The recruitable NPCs could bolster each of the existing Origin classes that way, simply by having a couple other types floating around among the more regular NPCs for points of contrast. I think they should pick a dozen NPCs and promote them to recruitable status to start the idea off.

Finally while this is going down (same patch) allow for the Creation of a full custom party like Icewind Dale, and introduce Character import/export into the mix. Doing this, you'd basically have 3 very distinct approaches to a party based rpg going on simultaneously, so the game could cater to different preferences or just whims in the moment, and remain engaging that way. Unlock Lae'zel or whoever to be a flagship for the Origins concept, but do it while all that other stuff is going on. I think the concepts might actually reinforce each other, and do a bit of bridging there. Like a win for all sides along the origins divide, win for replay, and it would just make the game feel more expansive overall.

Last edited by Black_Elk; 23/11/21 04:12 AM.