Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Quick Review and Suggestions (mostly combat mechanics)

First time poster! I got to the end of early access, and the nice man on the video said to post feedback here, so that's what I've come to do.

First, thank you for the work you're doing on BG3. I'm grateful not only for the work you've done so far, but the work you intend to do in the future. I'm also very pleased to see Larian making space for inclusivity and diversity. It's great to know that future players can immerse themselves in a world somewhat free from the sort of bigotry they might encounter in their day to day lives. Thank you very much for putting respect for identity front and center in your future plans. It's really kind of you and I'm grateful. The game isfantastic in so many ways - graphics, storytelling, music, sound, character options, and all the rest. I got into EA right off the bat, did everything I thought was doable in my first playthrough, and then waited for a looong time for you guys to add level 5 (levels 1-4 are just not that interesting to me as a D&D player. Level 5 is where the game begins). You did! And so I gave another playthrough, this time with all the added content. I played a Paladin this time out. I can't wait for this to come out in full in August (though I wish it were sooner!). The Realms in this game feel real and lived in. The language you use is sourced from novels and other lore, and that's wonderful. The Underdark is gorgeous and fun (and I want more!), and Grymforge is amazing.

I'm a devotee of 5th edition, having played D&D since the box was red - it's my favorite edition so far. I noticed on this play through some mechanics in BG3 that deviate from 5e rules and I found those mechanics to be frustrating - they were really my only negative experiences other than the sort of bugs and what not you expect to find in an Early Access game.

- Getting up from Prone should not cost you your attack action on the turn you get up.
- Getting up from being unconscious should not cost you your attack action on your next turn.
- Drawing a Weapon should not cost me my attack action - sometimes you get disarmed, and drawing a new weapon out of your pack should be your free Object Interaction and should not cost you an entire round of attacks.

In 5th ed, if the cleric pops you up with Healing word before your next turn, you get to act normally. You're prone, so you have to spend half your movement to get to your feet, but other than that you can act normally. When you *don't* have this mechanic in place, half your party can be entirely occupied with just keeping someone from dying instead of progressing the fight. I kept cursing my screen, saying "that's not how this works" whenever it happened. Please change this to be in alignment with 5e rules. Getting up from prone is part of your Movement, and not an action in combat.

- Casting a spell as a bonus action ought to preclude you from casting a leveled (non-Cantrip) spell as an action. I shouldn't be able to Healing Word and then Guiding Bolt a foe. Healing Word and Sacred Flame? No problem. Two leveled spells on a given turn is too powerful.

- Where the heck is the Shield spell? I need that reaction on Gale. He's so fragile. Shield is a classic D&D spell and Reactions are *fun*!. By that same token, please add Uncanny Dodge to rogues. Another defensive Reaction. Really, we need more Reactions in general.

- Why can't I apply Sneak Attack when someone invokes an Attack of Opportunity from my Rogue? Why can't I apply sneak attack damage to my off hand attack if my main attack misses?

- Shove actions move characters too far. It's too easy to shove someone into Lava when the shove action hurls them 20 or more feet.

- A warning of some kind before you do something Oath breaking would be cool. Some sort of nudge from your deity or your internal moral center would be nice.

- EDIT - Forgot to add one more request. Please add the Dodge action to the list of available actions in combat. it's an essential bit of 5e tactical play and I found myself really needing it during my playthrough.

Thanks for your time! Core 5e mechanics are good, and y'all should bring these mentioned mechanics back to the game before release.

I've been playing D&D since the Red Box back in the 70s as well. And 5e is my favorite Edition, though I still have a soft spot for Basic, AD&D, and 3.5.


- Agreed.
- Agreed.
- I'd just like to be able to draw a new weapon, out of my pack. Paladin armed with sword and shield goes into a tomb, "Hells, something's just woke up down here". Time to draw a Morning Star. Wait what, I can't? But I can switch between ranged and melee during combat. I have to reload and use Meta Knowledge to arm myself properly. Yeah that's immersive. In tabletop I would draw some blunt weapon.
- I know how it works in 5e, but I'm not sure if it overly effects one side or another.


That is the 5e rule. But I like it the way it is in BG3. I disagree that it is TOO powerful. In Table Top maybe, but in this game no. It would only make combat feel less. The rule never really made sense to me anyway, given how powerful martials can get. I guess it depends on how many magic items are in the game. If I were still playing TT, I would most likely homebrewed this out. Especially since most campaigns end by 12th level. But that being said, there is a mod for purists too.


I hear ya. The 5e Spells mod on Nexus has the Shield spell, and Absorb Elements; and they've been added to the new reaction system.


I'm not sure how I feel about AoO sneak attack not being in the game. WotC is currently planning on removing it from One D&D (6e). As far as off hand attacks gaining sneak when the main hand misses, I agree 100%. I do love the changes Larian made to the Thief subclass though. Makes at least equal to the Arcane Trickster imo.


We've discussed shoving over and over again. It's improved since ea started. There are mods that fixes it though. I love Larian's version of the Oath Breaker Paladin. But Oath Breaking needs a rework. Back to formula.

Keep in mind though video games work differently than table top. And though I believe, most 5e rules would work in a video game; I don't believe all would. 5e is best edition of D&D, but it's not perfect. It has many flaws, like 2 weapon fighting. Now that they have fixed reactions, I'll wait for the full release, and use mods to fix what I don't like.

Agree! I like how it is in BG3!

What is too powerful is Haste allowing casters to potentially cast 2 fireballs in one turn. If you're going to allow leveled spell from bonus action and full action, then you have to limit this. Otherwise, you can cast 3 leveled spells right now with Haste.

Huh. I never cast haste on Gale, so I didn't realize it would provide a second full cast. Yeah, that's busted.

I forgot in my initial post to add "Please put the DODGE action into the game. It's an essential bit of 5e tactical play and I found myself very badly missing it when I was playing".

As I understand it, WotC is currently only considering removing off-turn sneak attacks from One D&D. The most recent playtest mechanics aren't set in stone, as shown by the change from Nat 1's being auto fails for all rolls in the first playtest packet, to going back to 5e rules (only affecting attack rolls) in the 2nd packet.

Regardless, BG3 is built upon the framework and balance of 5e, so rogues should by default have the ability to sneak attack during opportunity attacks unless there's some compelling reason to take it away from them in Larian's implementation of a 5e game.

I totally agree with that.

I've been playing Dodge in the game for over a year and a half. I forgot it wasn't in Larian's version yet. Definitely needs to be added.

That's basically what I meant. It's out in the current UA. WotC will change things, if enough people want it. That's what the surveys are for.


I don't really know 5e Rogues well, I don't play them much. I usually skip Rogues in the party, other skills based Classes can fill that spot for me (though Thief Astarion with 3 hand crossbow shots a round is sweet). They've always seemed underpowered to me since 3.5e. I'm not against AoO Sneak.