"Doctor, it hurts when I do this."
"Well, don't do that."
When it comes to a game, that's good advice.
This is a great explanation of the problem. This is a role playing game, are players so weak minded in a solo RPG that they cannot play beyond the game mechanics and need Larian to hold their hand with in game limitations so they do not break their own RPG?
I don't think it's a case of weak will and over optimization that is the issue here. A lot of the changes nerf playstyles that aren't high damage into the ground. The game isn't particularly difficult, but if you run a party focused on control spells or defensive tactics it jacks the difficulty WAY up. It also leads to dissatisfaction when your spells don't work as intended/advertised. I'm playing coop with my fiance on PS5 and we actually have had a lot of difficulty because the builds we chose were more utility/control focused, and many features are unnecessarily nerfed compared to tabletop.
Meanwhile when I play on PC solo I have no issues because I have learned to avoid a lot of subclasses and features which are pretty much dead weight.
One of 5E's big triumphs compared to previous editions was that it allowed pretty much any party composition to function without overshadowing other party members or causing difficulty to skyrocket or plummet. BG3 while mostly an easy game is actually quite hard if you run a pick up game with newer players who pick suboptimally.
The power gap is so high that you can have your fun taken away from playing suboptimally just as much as playing too optimally. And it's a serious problem. Control spells, hazard spells, and many combat utility spells are borderline useless. It's either damage spells or buffs that increase damage of your martial characters. Likewise healing outside of stacked buffs like that blade ward on heal effect is even weaker than tabletop, because enemy damage is so high.
A good example of this is the Auntie Ethel fight. Her illusion phase doesn't really have an answer besides "more damage". If you go in blind with a control or defense focused build you get annihilated. If you go in with high ranged damage and blasting spells(especially magic missile) it's trivial. Too many fights are especially punishing to controller or defensive builds.
I usually play what I want and don't optimize. But in multiplayer I feel like I *have* to optimize or at least adjust my power level to match my other players, or we won't have fun. That hasn't been the case in tabletop DnD since 3.5e.
