The more that BG3 followed the DnD rule set, the better it became. Most of the issues I have with the game design are holdovers from DOS2 or other deviations from DnD. I also think that Larian benefited hugely from the Forgotten Realms lore and world building, which is so much better than DOS.
Without the DnD and Forgotten Realms IP, I doubt this would have been much more successful than DOS2.
Complete agreement here. And not even because I'm that much of a fan of D&D as a ruleset or Forgotten Realms as a setting, but mostly because it's simply better than the core systems and world building they used in DOS 2.
That said, I also think Larian at this point reached enough critical mass that their next title will be hyped since it's made by them, regardless of what it is.
Still, it would smart on their part to capitalize on all the work made so far to adapt D&D and extend this collaboration with WOTC for at least another big D&D game. This would also shorten significantly their development cycle, potentially.
On a personal note, I have to add that as far as I'm concerned I'd be happy to never have to see Rivellon again. The day they'll be done with D&D I hope they'll move on something else entirely.
