So, with the last patch for BG3 out and the shift towards future projects, I wanted to highlight some aspects of BG3 and how it evolved Larian's titles. Of course I could also comment on things that are not so great *Cough*Toilet Chain*Cough*Hotbar*Cough*Inventory*Cough* but I feel that there have been a lot of threads/posts on such subjects.

Instead I'll comment about the things that BG3 does that I feel should be utilized in more games going forward:

1) Separating Movement and Actions. This is mostly due to the DnD basis of the game where you get all 4 action types to utilize each turn (Movement, Standard Action, Bonus Action, Reaction). Now, I couldn't care less about keeping the 3 separate action categories (I think that an AP system like in Divinity is superior due to the flexibility. Being able to bank AP for burst actions and the variable AP costs of skills adds more strategy compared to "I must use my Action, Bonus Action and Reaction to bonk something somehow every turn")

However, having that movement in addition to actions is a pretty big thing (And not just the piddly amount of movement you can get with a certain feat in DOS2) as it broadens the amount of tactics that are available as you can maneuver and reposition as opposed to being inclined to stand perfectly still at all times. It can also enhance what the enemy is capable of, as they can flank, do hit and runs and overall be more active than "Run directly at your characters, sinking all their AP into movement so they're not even a threat"

2) Dark Urge style Origins. My main qualm with Origin characters is that as they're all companions, I get to experience 99.99% of their story regardless of my character by simply taking them along as a companion. However, Durge provides actual reason to play as the Origin by the fact that they are not a companion. The only way to experience Durge's story is to play as Durge. This honestly feels far more befitting of having a selectable Origin character, giving you a unique twist on the story based on this independent character rather than just playing as a companion with a couple of extra personal insights.

3) Withers and the Magic Mirror. Having baseline access to respecs and customization changes is really nice. Both to be able to fine tune companions that may or may not have some issues *Glares at Shadowheart's default stats* and also experiment with options to discover how things work and what is good or not by playing the game rather than reading about it on some 3rd party site. (That said, sticking him in the back of a crypt with at least 1 significant fight in the way is a little annoying, when you have to start every run going through that fight with a Shadowheart that can't hit anything due to her incredibly poor stats)

4) Camp. Having this unique area to return to where allies and storage can be found is neat. I'd prefer a location that's more stationary for a hub area, so that it can evolve throughout the game. I.e. Allies you make showing up with representatives (For example in BG3, having say a representative of the Druids, Harpers and whomever you ally with in Act 3). Companions decorating their rooms more over time (Romantic partners moving into your room and decorating). The ability for you to decorate the place with things you find in your travels (Arms, armour, trophies, books, paintings... Furnature you've "Borrowed" etc).

But the basic notion of having this (At least partially) static area with a few ameneties like Withers, the storage chest, target dummies (Make them function properly in future games though so that they're better for testing abilities and equipment interactions) and maybe a couple of extra things like basic commodities vendor (Selling consumables and having a boatload of gold to buy all your garbage you picked up) and/or any crafting features (If you decide to implement such things) is neat.

5) Non-combat experience. One of the nicest things about BG3 is that talking your way out of a combat scenario grants the same experience as if you slaughtered everyone. Which is good as it provides more options without feeling forced to be a Murderhobo.

Of course, the fact you can do this and THEN still murder everyone for even more experience should be addressed (Shouldn't be too hard to make the enemies you bypassed via dialogue to no longer grant experience right?)

Hopefully this can be expanded on with more alternatives, such as completely sneaking past areas undetected also granting the experience you'd have earned had you directly tackled the area (Either by combat or dialogue).

Such things would likely be most simple to do by shifting experience gains away from random fights and encounters and more towards completion of quests, so it matters less on how you got to the completion and more that you completed it at all (This should also include if quest steps were completed or not. Right now in BG3 you get bonus exp if you do every single quest step compared to if you are able to skip them and directly finish the quest. For example, reading the scroll about the Rite of Thorns and the note in Kagha's Chest both provide experience that you won't get if you just get the note from the crevice in the Swamp)

Either way, more facilitation of not being a Murderhobo is always a good thing.