Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback THIS IS NOT 5E D&D

Why did I read about your update saying that you "revamped the reaction system"? The description on reaction abilities is still the same stupid thing it was before, a toggle that is automatically used instead of an optional action taken or refused by the player in certain situations.

I really want to like this game since it has the name of Baldur's Gate and I love the first 2 games and I love tabletop D&D 5E. I also love games that are based on D&D and their ruleset. Such as Solasta, which in my opinion is a far superior game just by the flow of combat alone.

Ok, so my biggest issues with this game all have to due with combat. It feels like half D&D and half of something else that I can't even name. I'm just left feeling disappointed after every combat. There are many situations where I want to hold an action but I can't do that. There are many situations where I'd rather not use an attack of opportunity and instead use the reaction for something else but since it's a toggle on/off and automatic use, I just end up getting frustrated becuase the action is wasted most of the time.

Let's use an example, (an example that has happened to me while playing this stupid crap) say you have a WARLOCK at 3rd level with HELLISH REBUKE. Let's say your fighting a group of goblins and one uses the DASH action to get around your front line and passes into melee range of the warlock while running to get into melee with the Wizard. If you've left the toggle on for your attack of opportunity then your warlock which most likely has a low STR and low DEX will automatically take the attack and most likey miss or do very little damage. Then a goblin archer manages to get a hit on your WARLOCK. Since the REACTIONS are automatic the character will use the first one they get the first opportunity to use. The action is then wasted where it would've been much more useful on a cast of HELLISH REBUKE. I have found this to be pretty game breaking since I as the player don't get the option to choose what my character does in these certain situations where a reaction is necessary or unnecessary as I see it.

Another example of the same issue, let's say you have a FIGHTER that is in melee range of multiple enemies, let's also say one of them is a miniboss. If any single enemy runs out of your melee range then you automatically use your REACTION to attack. This has also happened to me, where my FIGHTER wastes his REACTION attacking an enemy with a higher AC instead of a lower AC spellcaster that ran out of range. The toggle on/off REACTION system is very much based on luck instead of skill and tactics since the choice is removed from the player. "I sure hope that spellcaster decides to run out of my melee range before the guy in full plate does".

Now another issue, HOLDING AN ACTION. That's a fairly big part of the combat system of 5E D&D. In other games like Solasta or in my tabletop group, there are multitudes of time, situations, cenarios where I or someone else holds our action. Instead of a FIGHTER wasting his turn because he can't run far enough to get to the enemies he holds an attack action until one comes into range. Just incase one is foolish enough to run into melee against a BATTLE MASTER (fun fact - the battle master fighter does the highest and most consistant damage of any class/subtype in tabletop D&D 5E).

Another gripe I have, why is the SHOVE action a bonus action??????????? That is the dumbest homebrew rule I think I've ever seen.
I will copy an exact sentence from the PLAYERS HANDBOOK for 5E D&D. "Using the Attack action, you can make a special melee attack to shove a creature, either to knock it prone or push it away from you." IT SAYS IT TAKES A FULL ACTION, what the hell are you doing with the rules Larian?????? Stop it!

Also why are there special melee abilites tied with the weapon a character is using?? There are no such rules in 5E. All abilites come directly from a characters class, race, feats, ect.

Certain abilites like SNEAK ATTACK actually are used automatically. SNEAK ATTACK damage is supposed to be counted automatically with the first attack that hits from the rogue in each round, as long as the rogue meets the criteria for the SNEAK ATTACK. It's not a special ability that's used. Why are you getting these things backwards Larian??

The more I play this game the less I enjoy it. The more it just makes me frustrated and annoyed. All because Larian is doing whatever the hell they want with the ruleset instead of making this a 5E game.

P.S. why have you not added the SHIELD spell in the game yet???? Oh probably because your moronic reaction system would make using that spell a nightmare. Even though it's one the best defensive spells you could ever possibly have for a spell caster. FIX THIS STEAMING PILE OF GARBAGE.

You know, its always nice to see well-thought out and respectful feedback /s

The reaction system was just implemented for the Paladin and Counterspell systems but hasn't yet been applied to the other systems and we don't have ready action yet. The reason people were excited was that it was a demonstration that the method will work for this Engine and - most- people understood that it was just a matter of implementing it to the other systems.

Yeah, a lot of people have an issue with shove being a BA. I am on the fence on that honestly. It can be funny, but sometimes it just prolongs combat and or seems egregious.

I hear ya on the Rogue - it's my fav class and I would love to make it even MORE powerful than it already is.

But dude, touch grass, its all going to be ok.

Well, I do agree with what you're saying, maybe it could be phrased in a less aggressive manner? Shove should certainly be implemented as an action, or as one of your attacks for those characters with Extra Attack. I also think it should be able to be used to push to prone, it would add some variety to Extra Attack. And while I'm O.K. buffing shove to about ten feet for 'fun' reasons, the present distance one can shove a target is ridiculous.

The Reaction system is still in it's infancy though. A host of reactions have been left out, the Attack of Opportunity is a glaring exception, they're presently expecting you to toggle it off if you have a more important reaction pending. I think Sneak Attack could benefit from the reaction system, just like the Paladin smite ability, allowing one to decide what attack you applied Sneak Attack to. Of course, Sneak Attack wouldn't actually consume one's reaction, the system would simply function as a vector like the Paladin's smite. Reactions like the Shield and Absorb Elements spells are sorely missed, yes.

Hi OP. If you want to provide feedback directly to Larian rather than discuss your views on the game with other players, you can do this using the Feedback option on the game launcher. I’m sure they do look at stuff here, too, but most of the people here are just fellow gamers like yourself so you might want to consider that when deciding how to frame your feedback here, since you're mainly talking to us rather than Larian! Many of us are more than happy to diss shove, lament the fact that the new reaction system isn’t consistently applied or complain about the divergence between Larian’s implementation and 5e RAW, and if you have a look back over the forum posts you’ll no doubt find plenty of examples of that.

The only thing I ever see about this game is how great it is. I genuinly have no idea how people like this so much. I guess if you have no idea about 5E rules then sure it could be a good time. Myself as a long time player and fan of the tabletop 5E rules, I hate the combat in the game so much. That is the correct word to use, I actually hate it.

The game Solasta is truely faithful to the 5E rules. It's a game that didn't have nearly the bidget or staff that Larian does and that game has far superior combat. Solasta is by far the best video game adaptation of the 5E rules I've ever seen. So since there is that example then there's no reason why larian should be taking so much into their own hands and changing what ever pleases them.

I'm upset because the game can be better. If they just followed the 5E rules then it would be just fine. I don't think I'd have any issues at all in fact. I'm tired of game companies making crappy products becuase they want to make a buck. This game is advertised as Baldur's Gate, it is advertised as following the 5E rules. Therefore I expect the game to operate a specific way. It does not.

There are a number of other social spaces where any kind of negative or critical feedback gets buried or shouted down, but fortunately this forum is not one of those places, Giathan - a lot of the folks who post here are very critical of the game, and in most cases they are critical in a measured, sensible way that is mature and seeks genuinely to raise issues and hope for improvement.

I'd encourage you to send your feedback to Larian directly as well, using their feedback form; the more reports they have of people who came based on certain advertisement (5e D&D, for example), and who are unhappy because they are now realising that those advertisements were deceptive, the better. you can find their official feedback form here: (https://larian.com/support/baldur-s-gate-3#feedback)

I do think Reactions is gonna be continuously improved, so I will give grace to Larian there.

Shove has been needed to be changed, but Larian doesn't want to because LOL MEMEZ!one!1!one!!one.

I don't expect Ready Action to make it in. Dodge would be simpler to implement.

I say it every time, but only shove can hurt like this.
It's an unnecessary feature of the combat that gets overused and abused. It also doesn't really make sense as a bonus action?

I should point out that the first two games were 2e rules, but used the terrible real-time with pause system that is far from being true to D&D. This is way closer to 5e D&D than the original BG games were to 2e. I am not saying things couldn't be different or that there aren't things to fix, but computer games reach very wide audiences and sometimes it is better for them to adjust some things.

All that being said, shove should be an action and not a bonus action. Most of the time when shove is really good we'd be happy to spend the full action on it. Personally it doesn't annoy me too much because I don't need it and don't look for ways to abuse it, but I agree with the criticism. I am not sure what you are saying about reactions, as you can set the option for it to ask you whether you want to use it or not, and I have mine set that way. I think sneak attack is better this way, and I've usually seen it implemented the way it is in most D&D computer games such as WOTR. Regardless of how it is in 5e, it's hard to imagine not wanting to use it.

I disagree - I think the combat is fine and plenty d&d enough but I don’t come from a perspective of it having to be strictly 5E or any edition for that matter as long as it’s engaging & enjoyable.
I respect the opinion of those who want a more faithful representation of 5E but personally I think as long as the experience is great I won’t let it bother me.
I also think Larian do listen to a certain extent & we still have sone time prior to release for changes - not that we will see now until the actual release…