I've experienced similar ease in my play throughs. I currently have over 150 hours in the main release and I don't believe I have ever used a single potion outside of the vaulting one to give a 8 STR companion a little jump boost. With such a heavy focus on gathering herbs and making potions, it's a bit of a shame that they are completely unnecessary to achieve goals in even the hardest of difficulties.
DOS and DOS2 had insane tactician modes, but I haven't felt that challenge in BG3. I'm quite convinced that with the ability to select any multi class and any feat without much in the way of stats has allowed for some truly busted combinations that flatten the "heavy hitters" of the game. Tag this with some specific items that are available to the player and you're just asking for a breezy experience.
Sure, you could purposely avoid using the overly powerful items or builds that are available, but it seems a bit odd to have to restrain yourself from not steam rolling over the game. While BG3 is an amazing game, there are a handful of balance issues currently present and the difficulty system is just one of them. Our characters are just honestly too powerful and become broken from the items we can equip. At times. It truly feels like the name of the game is less dependant on hitting the next level and more so on equipping that one item that buffs our stats.
At this stage of the game, I don't forsee any significant changes taking effect on items or character stats / eligible level choices, but I do hope they are able to add additional difficulty settings to give a higher challenge. One other member made mention of a point buy system that would basically lower the total stat of a character by offering less attribute points in character creation. I feel that this would be a great addition to the difficulty settings and would help hinder the absolute spanking we can currently give to the cronies of Faerun.
I've seen some builds that literally advertise a solo experience. Meaning you can build a character that can solo the game without conpanions...The fact that a build like that is even possible just goes to show how absolutely busted some people can make their characters.
Anyway, love the game and haven't had a life since its release...I should really check on society and see how the grass feels.
