Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Mega-threads and Guides Party Size Discussion

That...is an interesting theory. If that is truly what Larian is doing for party size, allowing for beyond 4 after dealing with the initial selection, then I could be fine with this.

But, there is no indication or hint that this will be possible, beyond having random NPCs that temporarily joining you for some side mission or fight.

I don't have any better evidence than the 5ish seconds of trailer. It's just a hunch. I have two more hunches-- first, Sven has stated that the origin characters you don't select become unavailable (I'm guessing because they get mind controlled by Absolute or become mind flayers, or whatever), but that there would be new members afterwards. Why force a selection if you were just going to repopulate your camp with more squadies later anyway? It only makes sense if they were trying to limit story permutations on the origin characters. Subsequent characters could be relatively simple narratively. Second, Minsc is a beloved character and he is voiced by a D&D celebrity, how can they expect any of their origin characters to compete? Lazel or Karlach would have a real hard time making the cut over Misnc as your front-liner? It just makes sense for a slot to open for either of Minsc or Jaheira.

Look my friends,

It would definitely be great to have the option to play with more than 4 friends.

If Larian doesn't implement an expanded party option, hopefully some modders will come to the rescue!

Can I get an "amen" for that?

Ya, I see what direction your going with this. I guess we shall just see what happens coming later this year.

Am I wrong assuming Workshop mods will allow for more players and also lone-wolfing? Can't be much easier than click install and play.

Well, you are not wrong in assuming mods will address the request in some way.
The problem is always if modders will find the foundations in place to do their work properly... Which is why IDEALLY Larian should have at least the option in mind (i.e. have an UI that can scale competently for six users... And a control scheme that doesn't make you feel the urge to stab yourself, but we are digressing now).

The only issue with modern modding is that they become obsolete with pretty much every update and modders burn out (former modder myself) and we can’t keep up. We move on, but some ppl still use our mods. Update and boom no more mod. I have games that I can’t even imagine playing unmoderated (looking at you Skyrim).

That's not the only issue either. People who play on consoles? No mods for them either.

One could argue that they allready do. O_o

Except for that unfortunate boat incident ...

The newest (Xbox PS) consoles have mods. The PS5 is very strict though; however, the mods they allow can’t have new assets (must use in game assets and no script mods) so theirs may actually survive in the long term. Xbox is a mixed bag though some will survive in the long term while others won’t. I can see new NPCs added, but they will be “dead” like the vast majority of NPCs on the Nexus. Well dead unless your goal is s..lab….(PC)… Even those mods fail in updates, so the basic repurposed assets to assemble an additional follower and additional slots is possible if all you have to change a setting in the directory. PS5 may even block that… not sure.

iirc modding the party size is trivial, merely a tweak of a text file (which shows that it is a deliberate choice by Larian).

Yes and no, there are areas that will bork up if you have more than 4 party members (one of this is/was the boat scene in the underdark). And I *think* you don't get the interaction with the addition slots filled, the game goes on as if they didnt exist... So yes trivial, but in some cases no. So in those cases, it would take additional modding as this could bork a game later on...

Yes. And there's a difference in encounter design and conversations.

4 members just allows Larian to get by with fewer companions.

I know they aren't going to budge on this but I would much rather they had spent their money on hiring additional writers instead of voice actors. The VO has been stellar - but I would happily trade those hours of VO for a handful of well written companions.

In BG2 and WotR if you don't like a companion that doesn't negatively impact the game. In WotR I'm never going to like Wenduag or Greybor. But that doesn't matter - if I don't like those two I have 12 other companions to choose from I can always assemble a party I enjoy playing with.

As a new face around these parts, I just wanted to go ahead and add my +1 for the option to have a larger party size. With release right around the corner I know it's a pipe dream, but still.

I just don't like 4 party members in CRPGs. I've always played tabletop with 5 or 6 with my friend groups so it's what I'm comfortable with. I did play Solasta and I managed with 4, but I didn't enjoy it. I DID enjoy using the mod for larger parties, even though you could only do it for the player-made campaigns. (But I came across one issue with moving between screens which is why mods will never be as good as native inclusion in the base game.)

I'm also not a fan of mods since they can face issues with patches. I'd hate to be in, say, Act 3, only for a patch to come around and either keep me from playing my file or, worse, have it corrupt/fail altogether and force me to start over. Plus I don't trust myself with when it comes to fooling around with files. I'm terrified I'll mess something up.

The devs have said and shown multiple times that they are all for players approaching the game with a myriad of strategies. Well, my troglodyte brain's approach is to throw more bodies at my problem.

If the game allows a party of 6 (or 5) then you can still run with a party of 4 if you so choose. If the game only allows a party of 4 then you are stuffed.
A party of 6 (or 5) allows players who are new to D&D to have a standard/classic party of 4 and have room to experiment with one or two of the more 'exotic' classics such as, e.g. Warlock or with a multi-classed member.

I am firmly in the bigger party is better camp but I can live with a party of 4 when the companions are tolerable.

I'm not generally a fan of 'party banter' (especially where Larian's infantile 'humour' is involved) and the companions' back stories we have so far are more variations on a theme rather than an individual bio. They all have the entity in the background and most of them have a shit personality.
I recently replayed DA:Inquisition and the personalities of Varric, Leliana, Cassandra and VIvienne are streets ahead of anything Larian looks like producing in BG3. Minsc and Boo will not be featuring in my plays any more than they did in BG2.
On a side note I am interested in what rationale Larian have for bringing Jaheira and Minsc into BG3.

There are gaps in the logic of some of the companions: Asterion has been around for how long and is still level 1; Shadowheart has been through all sorts working for Shar and is still level 1; I'm not familiar enough with Gale and Wyll's stories but the same point could, I think, be raised. Only Lae'zel is 'new' to all this, or at least relatively new.

Then there is the poor ability stat spread that most of the companions have.
The most enjoyable run I've had with EA is with Gale modded as a cleric, Shadowheart as a paladin and everyone's stats re-jigged.

Like many of the others I am resigned to BG3 being a party of 4 and I currently view my best options with regards to companions as either a full custom party or mods.

Now that it has been confirmed that we won't be locked into choosing a crew after act 1. There is no need for this stupid limit. We should be able to take up to 6 companions.

A six person party is certainly a popular request around these parts, and probably even a majority preference here, but I certainly wouldn't call a four person limit "stupid" as there are plenty of reasons folk, myself included, might prefer a core party of four. I'm sure they're all in this thread already so won't go over them again, but while others might not find them compelling it doesn't seem fair to dismiss them out of hand.

Of course, Larian could introduce some flexibility to enable larger parties for those who want it, but there is still the question of the intended party size around which the game is balanced, so it's not as simple as just saying that people who prefer a party of four could still play that way if the game supported parties of six.

(Personally, I have no objection to Larian enabling larger parties though it's not something I myself want. But I would prefer the game to continue to be balanced around a core party of four, supplemented with occasional guests for specific missions.)

this is a worry of mine too - larian has shared some nice surprises recently and looking fwd to the panel of hell, but really hoping we get some insight as to the number of non-origin/non-mercenary companions we can expect to encounter throughout the game as the current roster as we know it feels somewhat limited. cautiously optimistic tho

You do realize that if they allowed for a 6 person party it would mean that the ones who prefer 4 also would get what they want? As it is now, only the ones who prefer 4 gets full enjoyment out of the game. That is why it's objectively stupid.

Game balance isn't free, far from it. The more you add party members the harder it is for Larian to balance the game. I really don't see them achieving to balance the game correctly for both 4 and 6 as they are already struggling with 4.