Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Multiplayer Discussion Deactivate forced Split Screen?

So I have given up on the notion that Larian is going to ever do anything about this topic. My wife and I started as a split screen co-op just to have 2 custom characters and we transitioned into a single player campaign like others have already suggested.

1. start split screen with 2 custom characters
2. I turned my controller off
3. turn the controller back on as an assist controller
4. enjoy a completely full screen experience

The only minor con of this approach is that whoever is the assist controller doesn't get free movement of their character at the same time as the main player's. But having tried both this and the split screen co-op, this is such a better experience. There is no split screen during exploration nor battle, and whenever there is a dialogue both of us fully engage in that one dialogue that's happening and make decisions together. It's a shame players have to find a workaround to actively avoid a "feature" that locks players into a worse experience. And also a shame that Larian does not seem to be hearing this issue or just not addressing it at all.

wait a sec, the always merged screen is actually my preferred way to play it, ignoring turning-the-controller-off part, i'm so gonna try this.

Thanks for the tip.

Hey man!

I wanna copy that playstyle, because the forced splitscreen is annoying to me as well.

Unfortunately i can't really figure out how that works according to your steps.

How do I make an assist controller? It just opens the splitscreen for me always.

Would love to play it like you described it with my wife.

Thank you in advance!

No problem! I hope more couples/couch coop players get to enjoy this otherwise excellent game (barring inability to change x/y camera axes) in full screen. You may need to enable assist controller setting in PS5 first.

0. Make sure your PS5 has the latest firmware update because this feature only became available with the last update.
1. Go to your home screen and select Settings > Accessibility.
2. Select Controllers > Use Second Controller for Assistance.

Then

3. Once you start a split screen game, whoever turned your controller on after the other person in the beginning hold the PlayStation button in the middle of your controller for about 10 seconds -> this will power off your controller
4. Turn the controller back on
5. PS will ask you who is using the assist controller. Select whoever's account it is that logged into PS5 home screen

Then try out the assist controller. It's basically like having 2 main controllers that can move and click things at the same time but since this is a turn based RPG it works rather well. I'm having my wife do the exploration while giving her hints in terms of where to look. In battle she controls her own character and Wyll and I control my character and Shadowheart. Hope you enjoy!

I saw this workaround a few weeks back and gave it a try. While it can work, it just wasn't enjoyable.
We should be able to run around and explore at the same time, and this method has one of us just standing around while the other explores. Not the same experience as DOS.

I agree. It's definitely not the ideal experience. It's a shame Larian is forcing us into this vs. perma-split screen. I have my own playthrough that I started before starting a new playthrough with my wife so I'm content letting her explore and experience the game for the first time while I provide commentary on the side lol. I'd much rather have the full screen. Not sure why Larian doesn't understand this sentiment.

Any improvements with this new patch?

Time to call time of death on our request. It's obvious they have no plans to make this work properly.

looks like no.

The official release notes:
https://baldursgate3.game/news/patch-4-now-live_96

I used "Ctrl + F" to look for keywords such as "split", "local" or "fullscreen".

So I just submitted another ticket for merged screen:
https://larian.com/support/baldur-s-gate-3

Anyone is welcome to submit one so the devs will know the demand is there. Thanks!

Yeah, seems like there were a bunch of fixed issues for split screen but no option to merge it. Very disappointing. I have submit a request already but never got an answer.

I'm somewhat disappointed by the patch but in a way I expected it. I have two theories now and I hope the latter one turns out to be true:

1.Given that they're fixing things in co-op but still keeping split-screen, could it be that they actually want the game to stay this way?

2. Perhaps it's easier to address issues this way with the mindset that if it runs smoothly in permanent split-screen, then merging it won't be a problem. Once everything runs smoothly, they might add the option to merge split-screen. I have no idea if this makes sense from a developer's perspective but that's how I could explain it.

That would imply that we became involuntary testers to report issues. We were deprived of the opportunity to experience the game as intended during the initial playthrough, yet still paid the full price. It's a mistake I won't make again. In the future, I'll wait another six months before buying a game from Larian, even if they are diligent in patching. The game was and somehow is in a catastrophic state regarding the co-op mode

The fan boys all praise Larian for fixing problems, but anyone with half a brain would see that having 1000+ fixes in each of the last 3 patches indicates a game that wasn't even close to being ready for release.

We are basically beta testers at this point.

If and when Divinity 3 gets released, I will not buy it until I see and hear it has couch co-op like the other Divinity games. If they make it like BG3, they won't get another penny from me.

It’s beyond frustrating that frivolous things such as underpants and penises are focused on in the patches, but I’m keeping the faith that they’ll get this splitscreen figured out. Ya, it’s 70 bux now but once fixed, we’re talking hundreds of hours of great gameplay. It’ll pay off, mark my words.

Keeping the faith!!

Yeah, our solution to the forced split screen has been to not play the game, which is a shame considering how much we were looking forward to it and enjoyed Divinity OS 1&2. My regret is that I preordered, I assumed Larian would repeat the amazing couch co-op experience they provided before and that's on me. Won't make that mistake again.

As for BG3, I've moved on to other games and we're getting our co-op fix with Gloomhaven.

100% agree with you. It is infuriating


You know the definitive edition is coming, just like it did for DOS2. Whether they will fix perma split screen and ability to change x/y-axis for camera control? I'm losing hope.

Couch co-op or online?

I didn't know about this game until you mentioned it and just had a look, but everything I read says online co-op.

I'm a bit Dissapointed. Was expecting the same experience as in DOSII, but this way the game is unplayable. It feels like a gimmick, its there for you to say that it is there, but it takes away from the game. You can't see anything, its dissorientating and tiny. My brother stopped playing because of it. The campaign is haulted since we're hoping that this would get fixed eventually.

Gloomhaven does not have couch co-op.

As for another issue with couch co-op in BG3, the fact that they haven't even resolved the problem of reading books after patch 4 almost gives the impression that they forgot that couch co-op exists in their game

They're still focusing on bugs and performance optimizations looks like. Would be some time until they turn their attention towards features that would only affect co-op players

As much as a bummer it was to find out firsthand that the co-op is bunk, I can wait, as long as it's fixed. I'll have a big gripe if it goes on sale before it then though.