Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Experience Pts in EA

Honestly ...
I, for one, dont.

I get that people know, like and want the "top stuff" ...
But it seems to me like treshhold you should desire, but never reach. :-/

I mean, i have played with my friends one-shot where we were defacto level 20 (but we homebrewed A LOT, so im really not sure if that even counts) ... and it was fantastic game and lots of fun.
But it allready started at high stakes (clash of Demons, Angels, and Titans ... we were Titans) ...

I cant really imagine how could any story "naturaly evolve" from "you are just random nobody who got a tadpole in their eye" to "lets challenge God to a duel". :-/

Not saying its impossible ...
Just kinda dont see any gain in that, what would be the reason? o_O

Yes, that was my thinking. I guess it’s possible to have a single narrative arc that takes us all the way from level 1 to 20, but I suspect it would be easier to break it up and have a new, though hopefully linked in some way, story specifically developed for higher level characters. Of course, it’s fine if you prefer stories for lower level characters. Personally, I’d be disappointed if I never got to take my BG3 character all the way to level 20, but I’d rather not do it at all than have it done in a rushed and unsatisfying fashion. That’s just my preference.


I can think of a number of reasons why the footage in the trailer might not perfectly mirror what we will see in the full release, and specifically why the characters shown might have been manipulated rather than have been “naturally” progressed through the game from the start, but don’t think we have enough info to make it particularly interesting to speculate further on.

You mean ... like having standard game for 1-12 ... where plot will be resolved and finished.
And DLC as separate story, lets say ... happening some time later, not directly related to main game plot, but coming out of it ... where you start at level 12 and go to 20?
Maybe even possible to play as its own game, without need of basic game?

Like ... Origins and Awakening? O_o

Now i feel ashamed i didnt even thought about that option!
That actually sounds great!

Indeed ...

But that was not really the question. :-/

Yep, that was the sort of model I was thinking of. Or even (again like DA:O) a bit of a mix of shorter DLC adventures that maybe only give you an extra level or so, with one or more bigger Awakening (or ToB) type expansions, most particularly to provide a big finale. Or, yes, there could be another game to take us to level 20 that lets us import our BG3 character but doesn’t actually require BG3. I can see pros and cons to both approaches.

I do feel that a story that takes our characters all the way from levels 1 to 20 should give the feel of years passing, and be the tale pretty much of a life. This can be done in a single game (DA2 did a reasonable job of it, given its rushed development) but I don’t get the sense BG3 is being set up in that way.

I hate expansions, they do not exist, expansions is content the devs decided to cut and then sell back to the players for more money. A dnd adventure is 1-20 for a REASON. I will not accept anything outside of a full game, even game masters are cable of doing it in tabletop. There is no reason we can not be level 20, outside of corporate greed.

Well, we’re all entitled to our preferences and views, but those certainly aren’t ones I share. Sure, there are examples of what looks like cynical DLC that doesn’t offer value for money, but I don’t think that’s by any means universally the case and for me well done DLC and expansions add significantly to my favourite games. As long as it’s complete and satisfying in its own right, I’d much rather Larian released a first story for our characters’ in August rather than waiting for what I’d consider to be a satisfying full 20 level epic to be developed, spanning years and multiple arcs and which, if done right, would more than justify more than a single game. And I think it would be very disappointing if Larian either just released a game with 20 levels but without a the stories to justify them, or just gave us ~12 levels and refused to develop that story later, because some folk would accuse them of greed.

Of course, if they’d set the expectation at the start that BG3 would tell the whole story of a character’s adventuring career it would be different, but that’s not what they promised.

One cant really deny that this is becoming common practice ...
Especialy with certain companies (looking at you ... EA and Paradox). :-/

But as long as i feel like story was fulfilled in basic game, and DLC is telling different story ...
Personaly im totally okey with it.

And who isnt ... well, there is nothing easier than wait few years to deffinitive edition with all DLCs.

There is indeed a mathematical question here...
The xp tables shows that we need more and more xp to reach new levels (at least till level 11), but the reward to kill higher CR monsters increases as well (although not in the same proportions).

If BG3 followed the rules of d&d progression & reward, we would surely have a problem here : if BG3 was a classical TTRPG following strictly d&d5 rules, and assuming EA is just a small chunk of the game (25-30 % ?) we would end up the game at level (veeery high).

The trick here is that the xp rewards are nerfed.

Example :
* killing a bulette grants x250 XP when defeated in BG3 / however, this is normally a CR5 creature and should bring x450 XP
* cambion : x90 XP VS x450 XP
* redcap : x50 XP vs x175 XP
Etc, etc.

So Larian may drive this xp/level boat just as they wish by completely changing xp rewards, what they do.

It means that there could be a huge game with many many many fights, and they could just stop at level 12.

However, as we might face enemies of CR17 at least (adult red dragons), and probably more, I think a level cap of 14 at least would better fit than 12 (unless we have to solve bosses encounter with powder barrels).

Maybe like in BG 2, there are guaranteed level ups through way more XP during the main quests to ensure a certain minimum level for certain story sections. That might be the smartest thing to do, otherwise evil partys would just keep killing everything to get to higher levels faster as early as possible?

In DOS2 you got xp going between each act to guarantee you were at a minimum level.
Its interesting that experienced players know how to max experience, and therefore quicker/ more than casual players. This just increases the divide between both player groups. Difficulty levels are part of the solution. Buts its also fair for players who do every single quest, take on the optional but very difficult encounters to get a reward (ie more xp, more achievements, more items). Im glad im not paid to balance this game.

I did not like the expansions to BG2 as these were too "epic" for me. The PC were too godlike for my taste.
The myriad combinations of spells, potions, special abilities/feats fried my tiny brain.
I'd be happy with a 12lvl cap in BG3.

As they tip the scales to upper teen levels, then I personally expect them to effect the realms. Epically and close to god
Ike qualities as they close in on level 20 and beyond if epic levels are ever added in expansions/sequels.

Yup.
By now that's Granma Jaheira's territory - IMO she is like Ciri's grandmother in the Witcher books - she can raise a drawbridge with an angry twitch of her immaculately plucked eyebrows!
Minsc was dumb as rocks (and transformed into a rock?) hence his Realms affecting impact is nothing to speak about. Then again, Boo ...

Regarding progression, without spoiling too much, there are ways to get additional powers that have nothing to do with your level. They could build on this based on other decisions you make similar to the original BGs where you would gain additional powers and increased ability scores based on your story progression, choices, and alignment.

Not to spoil much myself, but I can only think of one extra tadpole power you get in the EA. If you know of more drop em in a spoiler tag and let me know…