So I'm finally doing a new playthrough, haven't completed one since the Grymforge patch was released, and just want to get out some general rambled opinions and comments on the story. Still don't like the Origins, others may like it and that's fine but I know I'll never touch any of them, glaring unaccomplished achievements in the future. Combat is fun though I feel like blitz strikes are the best way in every situation (Shoot first and all that), the long rest system is better and the rolls are a lot better than they were at the start. The "evil" path continues to be rather unattractive which also goes for tadpole use. Some other quick info before getting into it, I typically play a Seldarine Drow and the current run is a Sorc with party members being Astarion, Shadowheart and Lae'zel.
So first off the companions are a lot less abrasive then they were. Shadowheart comes across as a far more reasonable and pragmatic character than she original was. Lae'zel is still her fanatically loyal to the God Queen self and Astarion seems about the same with annoying affinity choices but humorous interactions. Gale's interactions feel better, more fleshed out? I think, from his original interactions which were a speed run to "I love Mystra and turned into a bomb because of rejection". I will say the weave conjuring interaction blitzing into a "We'll bang, okay?" was...annoying... I like the current look of Karlach though she's still not recruitable so no idea how her affinity reactions will go. I feel like her interactions will potentially change on full release and she'll be recruitable there. An issue, I feel, is that if these are suppose to be, excluding Karlach, the "evil" companions then that's pretty limited. Lae'zel is a fanatical Gith supremist and Astarion is motivated by fairly extreme self-interested. Shadowheart, Gale and Wyll(Least interesting companion) are at best neutral though currently I'm going with Gale and Wyll are good but each made a major stupid decision and Shadowheart is neutral. Though her less abrasive nature and, I think, altered affinity reactions make her lean more towards good/decent. I remember her originally being real impatient when at the grove. With that stated, it feels fairly limiting going for a generally "evil" path as you'll end up racking up the negative affinity or simply not getting affinity. Of course this is only part of the issue with the "evil" path and it seems that things haven't really changed since the start.
For myself, and this keeps me from going evil in most games, I prefer to win it all or at least gain as much as possible and this games "evil" path is just a path of losing. Granted that's a flaw with most games that have some form of evil path. A comparison example I thought of is Fallout 3 where you can blow up Megaton, there's no real benefit to it and you lose a settlement. You either blow it for laughs or you do it because a psychopath in a tower wants to see a big explosion. That's how the evil path in this game looks to me it's the burning down orphanages, slavery and mass murder because evil type of evil. Even with Fallout 4, where the factions could've been better fleshed out, you could have solid arguments for which faction you support. Except the Railroad, that was a weird group that wanted to save the synths by blowing up where they were built. Choices are far better when the arguments for and against them are fairly balanced. A more morally grey path like seizing power because you believe that only you have the best plan, the strongest will and clearest vision feels like a more fulfilling path. Sure you might not be the best choice, but you may also be far better than what is currently available. The choice of kill everyone because evil has never held much value, it's the whole ruling over ash choice.
Returning to this game, the primary "evil" path is effectively just a path of killing or destroying as much as possible. I can't find the thread and maybe it was on reddit but someone made a pretty solid info chart about all the stuff you lose, future interactions and possibilities mainly, if you start killing your way to "victory". The chart makes it very clear on a meta and even story level that you lose a lot going "evil". You're also never truly sold on taking this alternate path, in fact, plenty of interactions very directly tell you it's simply the bad/stupid path. The other issue, returning to companions, is that no one really pushes you towards this alternative way forward. Lae'zel wants to kill all weaklings/inferiors and get to the Creche and while that place may very well be the best option for you, she's shit at convincing you of that. It does make sense with the character but for motivating your character it does little. It also does not do much to convince you that the cult is any good for you. Astarion is in his own unique situation trying to get out of a bad deal he made and is very much acting in panicked self interest. The best example of this is when he panics over the tadpole use and is immediately ready to sell his soul off. His affinity reactions are also a bit annoying since they run counter to almost everyone else, Lae'zel is normally the only one to react positively alongside him. On the other hand getting positive affinity from Gale, Wyll or Shadowheart will usually net you negative affinity with Lae'zel and Astarion. Yes, I know, each character is their own person and that's good. Even Wyll, who is boring and not interesting, is his own character. The problem is that the majority will typically push you towards being a relatively decent person. Especially with the options you're presented with as you go through the story.
Going through the story, You meet up with Lae'zel and then Shadowheart while escaping the Nautiloid. Past the artificial sense of urgency there's no real reason to leave Shadowheart behind as the more the merrier in dealing with the threats ahead. Once landed, depending on how you go about you can miss Astarion and Gale (unless he pops out of other fast travels in which case nvm) when you've landed. Lae'zel isn't hard to find again as she's just off the path to the grove. Once that's done you're going to end up at the Grove where you end up fighting a Goblin raid. Now in one run where I was actively going to go "evil", and in turn meta'ing it, I watched(stealthed) the fight until everyone died though I don't know if that can still happen. Now yes there are "evil" choices to be made around the Grove though I feel like the majority are more in the "apathetic/thief" realm rather than a pursuit of power or benefit, at least a few "you stand back and watch" choices. Let the adult smack that child thief around, let the kid die for the meta set up, kill the Tieflings or Druids so you can more easily siege it later(Meta). There are few times where I feel you end up with two choices of equal or close to equal value. The major Grove decision is between Tieflings and Druids and either settling their dispute or killing one side. Non-lethal continues to be a mostly non-existent choice as I knocked out the Shadow Druid leader and that yielded nothing same with one of the Hag masked people. I tried it with Minthara (The only cultist of value other than Sazza) during the siege in the early days and the game's ai and combat system had a meltdown until I slit her throat, go go heroics. Another solid example of sparing is bad was when I knocked out the two Absolute acolytes and they went back to the camp and would drag everyone into combat, boy was that a bloody bridge. So while I still occasionally try to knock some folks out, like the tomb raiders, I don't view it as a primary choice. Back to the grove, you gain very little helping Kagha rather than dealing with her, keeping the grove open and the Tieflings safe are just better results. If you figure her secret it can be an even more clean victory, have to purge that heresy. Now with her secret I don't know if there's an actual natural way to learn it, I think I learnt it through a comment on these forums, but if there isn't maybe there should be even if its not obvious. A big change has been in regard to the kid who tried to steal the Idol, that used to be a pretty straight forward screw up a roll and its all down hill from there. Now, you have to either have really bad rolls or actively enable the kids death. Outside of setting up a weakened grove, which you have zero reason to go for at this point, letting the kid die doesn't benefit you in anyway. After the grove is sorted one way or the other you move onto dealing with the looming siege with a number of choices on how it happens and who wins. Now you can get started on destroying the Grove by talking to Sazza, who's imprisoned at the grove however that'll result in you skipping a ton of stuff (Loot, exp, interactions) if you happen go for it immediately and if you don't go through the secret back path you'll just be wiping out the grove right then and there. For myself, I play Drow characters so walking into the Absolute's camp, without Sazza, is pretty straight forward. I can't speak to the difficulty or ease with which it is to get in with other characters, the time I played with a Tiefling it was Eldritch Blasts for every little Cultist I found.
Now, the grove siege is where you're, I believe, potentially beginning the primary "evil" path. More than likely folks will be coming into contact with this path after at least starting a bunch of the grove stuff, which would influence you towards obliterating the Absolute Cult and further interactions with the Cult will likely reinforce this. The fundamental issue with siding with the cult is that it just does not make sense, not in meta nor story. As you interact with the Cult you very quickly come to the realization that their leadership is infested with Mind Flayer Tadpoles and they don't know that they are. They think they're following a god called the Absolute, which may very well be real but is more than likely not. The Absolute as far as most, with knowledge on the Cult, are concerned is either a Mind Flayer ploy or an illusion presented by a different god or entity. A new cinematic where you almost get mind controlled shows three people who seem to be the primary leaders of the Cult. The thing is you're almost enslaved by these people and barely escape that thanks to an artifact Shadowheart has. The attempted mind control is made possible thanks to that tadpole you've had rocking about on your brain since the ship. This serves as further incentive to get the thing out of your head if you didn't already have enough. Inside the Cultist camp there's a several interactions but the primary ones are Gut, Ragzlin and Minthara. Gut is one of the several options for potential help with getting rid of the tadpole though its not a good option and never really presented as such. Ragzlin is trying to interrogate a dead Mind Flayer and you can get involved in that if you choose. Minthara is the one to see regarding the grove siege and is for most, I'd be surprised if not, the main reason for siding with the cult on the siege. Being able to capture her during the grove siege would be a good option especially to further study the tadpole's role in the Cult and look for potential solutions to your own problem however that isn't an option. You will either kill the three leaders of this Cult sect or burn the grove down. As previously stated there is no real gain or reasoning for siding with the Cult so you'll likely kill them, you also likely do so as one of the bigger gains for destroying the cult is gaining Halsin's aid in dealing with the Tadpole.
For the tadpole's use with your character and gameplay, the majority of time it feels more like a crutch for when your character isn't charismatic, cunning and/or strong enough to get something done. It is also made clear, repeatedly, that using the tadpole is bad and its costing you every time you use it. Now its been a long, long time since I've played Baldur's Gate 2 but I don't remember being a Bhaal spawn being fatal for your health. Even making pacts with Demons is usually a game of making the pact then trying to figure out how to retain the power while keeping your soul hell free. The tadpole on the other hand just comes across as a give me dementia and maybe I'll get something option. Now, using the tadpole, why are you?, eventually leads to the dream person. To even get to the first dream sequence with the dream person you've got to use it, I believe, three times at which point the tadpole is described as practically eating your brain. What idiot wants to keep using something that everyone says is extremely dangerous and inevitably fatal? Once you get your first dream sequence it will give you a new ability. I mean, cool, I suppose but I've already got plenty of powers to utilize that don't eat my brain or potentially turn me into a Mind Flayer. Wild Magic is less dangerous and that keeps summoning Mephits on me. The tadpole is an inherently bad thing with no redeeming aspects, we're not forced into using it but then that'd be the only real way to ensure its use and getting those dream sequences. Sure Astarion likes it but, if he's to be believed, he's escaped a bleak and roadblocked existence and is fairly desperate to not go back. He's the only one where the tadpole even makes remote sense in using or keeping. Overall for what seems to be the main quest you're given options but its very much a case of several bad choices and one good one. When it comes to the side quests the bigger ones currently available have some better overall choices though there's still a typically optimal choices.
When it comes to the side quests and events some of them feel better fleshed out in their conclusions and options, which considering this is early access isn't surprising. The main quest only gives us the buy in not the whole package. You've got Ethel, the burning inn, smugglers, Gith patrol and Karlach as some. There's also smaller events like saving the under gnome, finding the dog and the Owlbears. I also killed a Spectator which freed a Drow who is part of the start to the Adamantine Forge quest, knocked him out. With Ethel you go beat her down and either kill her or get some power from her, I killed her due to annoyance. The Inn is super straight forward, go save the people inside. The smugglers lead to an item of value that you can keep, open or return so its fairly open for choices and potential rewards. You could also kill all the smugglers because murder hobo needs their fix or you're bad at rolls. With the Patrol you either deceive or kill them, I prefer deception but the murder hobo route is probably better since loot and they're a future threat. Karlach is also extremely straight forward, save the big Tiefling or lose a future companion. On the whole you've got options with your side quests though, meta'ing, there's a best path for most of them. With Ethel I may have actually let her live if I could've had my character interact with her when she begged, rather than Astarion but he was closer, since that looked like a potentially more optimal choice. For some extended options with the Hag quest, a good character should really be to "humanely" beat down the two brothers so they don't run to the Hag like the idiots they are. Not everyone need be persuadable but its not hard to see, even on an first playthrough, that those two are going to get themselves killed quickly. Killing the Hag and saving Mayrina means you also get to deal with her husband which can go hilariously dark.
I have yet to decide on which choice for the grove siege on this playthrough, maybe evil just to see what changes there are but really there's still no real reason to bother with that path unless you really need Minthara in your life. Currently potential companion Karlach and Shadowheart beat her. Overall I've continued to enjoyed the game and I'll be interested to see how the overall story turns out.
This is longer then I planned...Whatever...I've said(typed?) my piece.
