Originally Posted by Nicottia
Originally Posted by Bethra
I don't mind the bugs and the technical issues - those can be fixed and almost certainly will be.
What I am most upset about is how towards the end of Act 3 the narrative ceases to matter, choices railroaded
eg: emperor 180, why do we need another mindflayer (and if we must why can't we use Omeluum) it's plain dumb, especially if you plan to use Gales bomb, companion dialogues and quests hinting at better resolutions that never occur (steel watch and Karlach, Book of Thay for Astarion),
suddenly we're all on a straight line to a finish that doesn't allow for player choice in a game which in Act 1 and 2 was full of meaningful player interactions.

So we get to the end and in all honesty it's the worst ending to a story driven game I have ever come across - because it isn't an ending.

An ending is the end scenes in Witcher 3 Blood and Wine, sitting in your vineyard with the love of your life (or your best friend) discusing plans and hopes when you already know the outcomes for your friends and the world you have interacted with from ending slides just prior.
An ending is the end slides from BG2 or even the party scene from Act 1 of this game.
An ending is knowing what your companions and friends plan to do next and whether or not you will be a part of it. Where are Scratch and the Owlbear and who is feeding them? We're the de facto guardian of a small child and her cat - who is looking after them if we are now Illithid or dead or swanning around trying to get killed in Avernus?
I'll give us 10 mins real time tops as soon as Zariel hears about it btw, In my game at least Wyll isn't the blade of Avernus as he is not pacted and in any case Mizura won't likely back him against Zariel, why on earth would she? So 3 normal, if skilled, people against the entirety of Zariels legions in a hostile environment? Come off it
You know what an ending isn't?
Watching your lover run off burning and not being able to go after him, we can't even react to it - all completely unecessary as it was sunset
2 minutes of nondescript and unromantic chat to your romance partner from 8 feet away - some time later.
And some random NPC saluting some random statue.

Ok so thats what I am concerned about. But to my mind at least some of that, at the least some ending slides, should have been in the game at release. I hope some of it will be in this mythological definitive edition but I'm not actually holding my breath.

My solution?

I just stop playing before the end sequence even starts so I don't have to deal with the soul crushing it generates because the love of my life in this game is unascended Astarion and the chances of Larian getting off their 'Poignant' streak and giving me a scene similar to sitting in my vineyard with Astarion (or equivalent thereof for Karlach or any other possibility we may have had as a love interest) seem to be non existant at the moment. I'm hoping I'm wrong but it is what it is, and maybe given time modders can take up the slack.

BTW I don't think complaining about a non existant ending is entitled in any way. It's not at all unreasonable to have expected a proper story ending in a story driven game you have paid full price for.
I'm sure Larian had their reasons for releasing the game when they did but perhaps the solution would have been an ending slide saying 'to be continued'? Just a thought.

100% couldn't have said it better myself, except for 1 point: I have seen one game that was worse on release... Mass Effect 3. On release it was PURE SHIT how Astarion would eloquently put it. You cannot compare BG3's shit ending to ME3's shit ending. Not even close baby. It was so shit on release I am happy that I forgot the finer details (which are still to be found on youtube... but I don't wanna go through reliving that crap ever again).

Not even CP2077 was that bad and yes it was bad, I played it once and uninstalled and not planning on reinstalling it, even if I was paid to replay it. Hell no.
Quite a different thing. Cyberpunk was bugged mess, so was (and still is but to a lesser extend) act 3 in BG3. Ending of ME3 was just peak of absolutely horrible writing that threw the entire trilogy to trash for the sake of attempted plot twist and dramatism. And while it's tolerable after extended cut, the biggest problem it created remained. The only thing BG3 is similar is that we don't see any aftermatch of our decision, like in ME3 original ending, but much of the act 3 content is simply bugged, it works horribly and is plagued by performance issues