So many issues that are raised come back to Long Rest being a badly implemented mechanic. Traps aren't the problem, unrestricted resting is the problem. Their implementation of Long Rest just has a ripple effect on many things. They should redesign the resting system first before looking at traps. Or combat balance, class balance, spells etc.
Ok. I'm all for long rest restrictions, but I disagree with you here. Long rest has nothing to do with my characters spotting a trap AFTER it's already been triggered. The Perception check is too late, and I've been blown up before even knowing the trap was there - but I wind up succeeding in Perception?
Also, the implementation and purpose of traps in most games including BG3 is the issue. I'm all for traps. They make sense. However, if they are too easy to spot and disarm, they're just annoying. If they're too difficult to spot and disarm, they're just annoying because you get hurt and wind up having to reload and metagame to avoid them so you can continue the game, thus defeating their true purpose.
An example of a BG3 trap done right is in the dank crypt when you fail to trick the guy at the door. You pick the lock and enter the building anyway and BOOM. Party takes damage from a trap the guard guy set before running to get his friends. Get away from it quick before it goes off again! You can also then disarm it if you have the right equipment. This trap makes sense because you alerted the mercs that you're invading.
The traps I recently discovered that lead to the druid prison also make sense in terms of placement, etc. They are there to keep prisoners from escaping. The issue I had with them was the mechanics. I jumped from one spot to another. Boom! Perception check. "Watch out. There's a trap.". Um. Yeah. Too late. I just lost like 4 HP. If you'd actually made the Perception check like 2 seconds earlier, I'd have paused BEFORE jumping right on top of a bomb mushroom. And the chain system makes it so the whole party gets blown up as well because they all follow you over just as the bomb goes off. But you make the Perception check?
I also think the trap outside the Zhent stash in the Underdark is well done. If you set it off, you can't climb up to explore the stash area. THAT is a good, well-laid trap that makes sense and has good consequences. But again, the Perception check is too late to avoid accidentally setting it off.
I also don't like how Larian allows you to see the check is being done whenever you are to spot traps or anything special in the world. If you let us know there's a check being made, we KNOW something is there, but we can't do anything about it. I'd MUCH more prefer the checks be in secret and only IF someone makes the roll would the game reveal that there is something there. This is something Pathfinder does well, I think. As you're roaming the map, CHING. You spot a chest hidden in the bushes. If all your characters fail the check, it doesn't even let you know the chest is there.
If this is how traps worked, there'd be much less metagaming. You know the trap exists, sure, but you can't see it at all because the PCs failed the check. You may even forget it's there because no check was visible.
