+1
If Larian is really going all-in on a player-defined permutation-based experience, you should be able to play any playthrough using any mechanic to its completion, without the game forcing you to other mechanics because reasons.
Narrative gate off exists for a reason and is fine if it makes sanse. They can't just make everything they need to set limits.
Example like the druid grove fight is gated that way like it should be.
But on the other side we have lots of bugs so it's hard to know what is a bug and what not.
i can only confirm the stealing problems mentioned by op. i tested those in this pach and they are indeed weird. Like they are with every patch clearly they are still making the system, it's different with ever patch more or less.
You are right that narrative gate off exists for a reason and should be there if it makes sense. My point is more that Larian has made a specific and concerted effort to create what one might call a "player-defined" and "permutation-based" experience. Did you play DOS2? In DOS2, you can skip to the end of Acts, load up story moments with barrels while in stealth, and completely fuck with the order of the game (which I think contributes to the Act-based direction Larian has doubled down on), and Larian actively encourages you to find different ways in and out of situations (that's why the romances get boiled down to... who do you want to share the bed with). In that specific spirit or ideology of game design, narrative gate off is actually an obstacle to Larian's vision, not an asset. Now, if they want to temper the extreme direction the "player-defined" experience has gone (not necessarily against that either), maybe narrative gates aren't the worst thing. But in a game where the total party's arc and reputation follows the player character, where companion sexuality follows the player character, where the events in the game follow different permutations based on the decisions of the player character, and when you are given freedom in going about certain tasks as the player character (which defines how the game presents itself to the player character), where you can move yourself anywhere in the Act through a series of random bullshit because you are the player character and the game accounts for it, maybe the natural conclusion of the game philosophy is to let anyone use any game mechanic to its full completion. It's like FLUDD in Mario Sunshine, or the Gliding Mechanic in Breath of the Wild. Maybe just give people the ability to push a mechanic to absolute "freedom" and see what they do with it.
Edit: I also think there is a remarkable challenge we can underestimate a lot in this forum in that gameplay mechanics, world mechanics, and narrative mechanics all have to align and cooperate with each other for a coherent experience. What is good for gameplay might be bad for narrative, and what is good for the world, might be bad for gameplay, and so on. For example, we used to discuss chopping up the map to make it more convincing as a "larger" world, but it would also take away from the seamless experience of gameplay which is so necessary for having a smooth time with the game and a consistent multiplayer experience. Narrative gates could preserve parts of the narrative the devs deem "necessary," but it could also prevent people from playing the game the way they wanted to play it, when the game specifically tells them that they should be able to play however they want to play in a "player-defined" experience. Lots of people like very different things in this game, so it leads to wanting to have our gameplay/world/narrative cake and to eat it too.
