I don't think "plot" is that important in cRPGs. Plot tends to be a static think that drives players forward. I would even say that usually best RPG stories have basic plots that inform objectives but don't define the journey. Both Fallout1&2 plots revolve around finding a McGuffin. Fallout New Vegas plot goes "find guy who shot you" and "resolve local conflict". Planescape Torment could be summarised as "find a way to die". Entire Disco Elysium revolves around solving a murder.
This is an odd point to make. Every plot can be boiled down to a soundbite if you're glib enough; it doesn't mean it's a bad plot or even a SIMPLE plot. All of those games you named have various plot points along the way to the "goal" you summarized them as, and they're presented much more coherently than the plot in BG3 is.
I think plot doesn't matter that much, either, when it comes to cRPGs. Well....it depends. If you have solid gameplay, the plot can kind of be glossed over. And gameplay can mean something as simple as "an interesting world to explore." I mean, there's entire genres where that's the big joke: Open world games where you get some main plot and then you ignore it for 99 percent of your playtime just because you have fun exploring. If what you want is *exploration*, I agree that act1 and act3 are actually the strongest with act 2 feeling relatively narrow. If what you want is *fun combat*, act 1 is probably the best. Act 2 I do agree is weird. I kept waiting for a point in the plot where we'd sit down and have a long conversation with Ketheric, or work directly for him during our infiltration, but it never came. Usually I do enjoy exploration, and I think I could have enjoyed exploring act 3, even if I think both the plot and the combat had declined by then, if it wasn't for me running into a lot of performance issues and outright bugs.
