Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback [SPOILERS] Maybe just don't put evil choices in the next games?

This is something I kind of think about every time I hear people going on about they hate the Emperor and it's like, yeah of course you do. He's just such a mess of a character, he keeps a bunch of mementos under Elfsong tavern just to manipulate someone if they ever bring him there in an Astral Prism, unless you like him then he's capable of sentimentality. He doesn't really care what stupid and unsafe decisions you make except until the end where he just decides he'll surrender his free will (the only thing he cares about) because he unreasonably hates Orpheus even though he doesn't really care about the grand design or anything. The character is just so bafflingly stupid. He's more of a plot device than a real character.

This is the same for most of the evil characters they're base, stupid, and bumbling. Lorroakan, Kagha, The Dumb Three, and pretty much every absolutist.

I think it's the same for the evil choices available to the player. Purging the grove makes zero since under any kind of reasoning. It's clear the True Souls have no idea about the nature of their affliction and also have no clue that you're able to shake off the compulsion (this does bring into the question of how good the good choices are when we spend an entire game murdering people who are under compulsion that we have a unique ability to free them from but that's neither here nor there). So there's clearly just no benefit from helping the cult. Letting Balthazar have the Nightsong makes no sense and is dumb. Siding with the Emperor also doesn't really make sense, I guess maybe you can make the RP argument that there's NO WAY Orpheus could trust us so we better kill him.

This isn't really like something I want to debate and I do love the game a lot, but I just feel like it really does fail on any sense of shades of gray. Your choices are to be upright and just or just chaotic stupid. So given that I mean why put in this stuff? It might be funny letting us do messed up stuff like sell Aylin or send Wyll to hell and make Karlach watch, but if the majority of these choices are reductive, in that they lead to less rewards, less companions, and less story then why would anyone choose them? I think it's really lacking when you compare it to something like the Heretic playthrough of Rogue Trader which has a number of things that feel impactful.

I don't even think there's a huge problem with not having Evil choices.

That's all fine, of course, but that's your subjective opinion. Adding evil options is very good, it helps to play the game in different ways, with different characters, with a unique story. Therefore, you should not rush to make a statement: "Maybe just don't put evil choices in the next games?".

My opinion is what needs to be added and what needs to be improved in the next games.

+1

I think the main issue is that the Evil path was sidelined due to "Being less popular"

Even the "Good" path is rife with poor writing (The Emperor in his entirety) and the whole of Act 3 feeling rushed and incomplete.

So the secondary path being even less fleshed out and polished is to be expected.

Of course, one of the main things they need to do with any future "Evil" path is not simply make it be focused around being a "Murderhobo". Their games already push that style of play anyway (Even on "Good" paths, there's a lot of incentive for being a Murderhobo) and to instead focus more on more selfish narratives (I.e. Gaining more power for oneself, gaining control over others etc)

That said, if Larian continue to do their Larian development cycle, whereby they spend the majority of their development time on Act 1 continually addressing EA feedback then get burned out on the game and phone it in for Acts 2 and 3...

Then sure, cut the Evil options in favour of polishing up a singular "Good" path in later Acts. As oppsed to half-arsing the Good path and quarter-arsing the Evil path because development past Act 1 is rushed and uninspired.