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I'm gonna do my best to break this up into sections, novel incoming, and spoilers ahead:


Background:

I'm a big 5e nerd, and I've been playing D&D for like 5 years or so. I'm coming at this post from the perspective of a "5e veteran", but not like a lifelong player, I was still young when the old BG games came out, so I'm not at all familiar with them. I have DMed for most of that time, and have DMed two games of BG: Descent Into Avernus (DIA). This feedback will be from the lens of someone familiar with D&D, but I'll try occasionally throw in a note from a more green perspective. I have not yet had a chance to try the multiplayer, so no feedback for that here, but I did do the evil playthrough, so I'll talk about that lower.

I played on Stadia, with a pretty solid internet connection. I did like 5 full run throughs each on different classes (just haven't finished ranger yet).


Overall Positives:

I definitely love the game as whole, and I'm excited to see the full release.
Generally speaking the changes from 5e are done well, and mostly make sense.
Visuals are fantastic, when functioning properly.
The writing is solid, only a few small points where things got weird.
The story overall is intriguing, even a few playthroughs deep I'm not sure what The Absolute is or wants, and I want to know more about my companions' backstories.
Ability descriptions and the like are done well, I expect people who haven't played D&D at all to have a fairly decent time getting into the game.

Okay, actual feedback and critique now...


Character creation:

It's so so good, but I have small gripes.

The hair and beard options should have a drop down menu with little pictures of them on blank heads, rather than the current click though system. It makes it very hard decide between Hair 3 and Hair 12 if I have to flip through all of them.

Nowhere does it explain (maybe it's tiny or hidden and I missed it) that having an odd score provides no benefit over the even score one under it. i.e., it doesn't explain that 14 STR and 15 STR are the same thing in terms of power, because they're both +2. This is a common thing for D&D noobs to be surprised by, and should be explained.

Unless my race gives me a bonus to a certain stat, It's impossible for me to achieve a score of 16 in it. I wanted to make a Drow cleric of Lolth, but they don't get a wisdom bonus, so I had to make her half-drow. The point buy system should be tweaked just enough so that anyone can get to 16 in any score, to make any race-class combo viable.

We NEED starting equipment choices. My fighter should get chainmail at the start so I can skimp on DEX, and Ranger Knights need that option too. That's just one example. We should also be given options of like "do you want the longsword, the battleaxe, or the warhammer" just for flavor.


UI:

Overall it's pretty good, but my main issue is with using it as a spellcaster. I'll just use Shadowheart as the example. She has waaaay too many icons. People have already said this, but spells that can be upcast should be stacked in the UI, like how Hex opens to let you choose the ability score. I think channel divinity should also stack and then open out into a menu, so D&D noobs realize the two different options use the same resource.

Speaking of Hex, how the hell do I re-cast it? Seriously, how? I have no idea. Make this clearer.

Dip should be a smaller, more obscure icon (or even removed from the game, since it makes no sense in 5e), and replaced by a dedicated Disengage icon.

I shouldn't have to jump to get through allies. In 5e, you can move through an ally's space at half speed. The game should allow for this, especially when I've allied myself with a huge bear in a thin hallway.

I don't know if it's a UI issue, or if it's intentional, but the Evoker's Sculpt Spells doesn't seem to be working properly. I should be able to drop a Shatter directly on myself and take no damage, but alas.

Also don't know if this is a UI bug or not, but do GOO warlocks really not get a 1st level passive ability? Seriously? I don't care if its telepathy or not, just give me something.

In many fights (particularly ones with ten or more participants) the initiative order is often displayed incorrectly.

Modifier to dice rolls should be additive, not subtractive. If the DC for a check is 13, it should always display as a 13, then next to the d20 there should be a big floating "+4" or whatever it is so I can see my total roll, and get the occasional cool feeling of rolling over a 20.

If I don't have Arcana proficiency, I should be able to make Gale make that check for me mid-convo. This is how group conversation works in D&D, people can chime in.

The trading UI is a hot mess. Why is the 600 gold magic item suddenly 1100 gold when I ask for it?

The icons for Action Surge and Second Wind should be swapped. Why heart make attack more but fist make heal?


AI:

Probably my biggest gripes with the game are here, since AI in general is complex as hell.

Also an issue with battles over ten people, enemies just skip their turns randomly. Some even stay idle the whole time. (If you go evil and raid the grove, the druids are a prime example)

I'll add my voice to the chorus: THEY HAVE TOO MANY GODS DAMNED THROWABLES. It's hard to make educated guesses about the difficulty of an encounter when you can't imagine how many literal grenades they have in their pockets.

I once had an option reference Astarion's master by name, even though he and I hadn't yet had a conversation about him.

They sometimes seem a little too smart. Particularly I'm talking about the lower-ranking goblins, worgs, and other animalistic enemies. As a DM, I typically have dumb creatures just attack whoever is closest or biggest, not go around for a sick flanking maneuver on the wizard at the back. I expect this behavior from goblins led by someone smarter, like Dror or Minathra, but not every encounter. In particular when I most recently fought the Minotaurs, they REFUSED to attack Lae'zel with her high AC, and kept going after Shadowheart and my custom wizard.


Balancing and Ability Tweaks:

Presented in no particular order:

Acid should fade in two or three turns.

Fire should not hurt when you move OUT of it, only when you move into it, or start your turn in it, and you should not remain on fire after you leave it.

I like that the fire spell/arrow + grease/vines/oil effect is in the game (a common house rule), but it's definitely too strong as it stands.

If I'm an evoker wizard, surface effects such as the fire from Firebolt or the slippery ice from Ray of Frost should NOT affect my allies.

Rogues should also receive "Cunning Action: Disengage" at level 2. I've seen goblins using it, so I know you can make it happen.

Speaking of rogues, the only way to get a hold of a shortsword in the early game is to pick one off the dead bodies in the Nautiloid's helm room as you run toward the transponder. Don't make Astarion use only a single dagger for too long if I don't have the foresight to loot bodies as a I focus on escaping hell.

There's really no reason to choose to the Quasit over the Imp as a warlock. Buff the Quasit!

Currently with no EXP rewarded for peaceful resolution, I don't feel compelled to take spells like minor illusion, friends, charm person, detect thoughts, etc.

On the same note, the simple solution to the "EXP for peace" problem is : No EXP rewarded for killing creatures marked as Green, and automatically mark creatures as Green once peace has been made, giving the party all the EXP they're worth.

Small note, but: Dror Ragzlin has a hammer that can knock people back in a room with a bottemless pit. The instakill potential against a level 3 party is kind of a lot.

I was worried about shove and fall damage being OP, but so far I'm ok with it. It becomes very precarious around bottomless pits, so the less of those the game has the better.

Mage hand shouldn't be for pushing people, it should be for pulling levers, pushing buttons, and setting off tripwires and mines from a safe distance. The only potential combat purpose it should serve is "pull the lever to drop the chandelier" or some such.

Many of the explosive traps are VERY strong, imo.

When I spot a trap, or anything hidden, it should cancel my current movement, and the glow effect needs to be much more noticeable. Maybe even force camera rotation to look at it.

Trap disarm tools and thieves' tools should be rolled into one item.

Getting back into the temple of Selune after killing the leaders but NOT having killed the courtyard goblins is a bit too hard. I thought they were supposed to have scattered with their leaders dead?


Glitches:

Crashes were thankfully rare, but I've had a few small other glitches.

Others have reported it, but there's the "the turn that never ends" glitch, that seems to also be able to happen to player characters.

Whacky waving inflatable arm flailing corpse!

Less of a glitch and more of just a "it's EA and it needs polish" thing, but the camera for me rolling a 20 just loves to go into walls.

Sometimes my attack animation plays out, but it never confirms a hit or miss, just wastes my action. Most common with melee weapons, I feel.

EDIT: On more than one playthrough, the conversation with Gehk, the duergar captain at the underdark docks, is super buggy if you approach him with Glut in tow. It'll repeat his one line and then just end without initiating combat, letting me stack up around him and attack.


The E V I L playthrough:

Obviously spoilers below if you haven't done this yourself yet.

My favorite thing about this is the dreams with your "lover", and especially the image of
Baldur's Gate on fire.
Every player should get to experience something similar, even if the dialogue is different and they come slower. It's a shame to waste such cool trippy cutscenes on dialogue options many players won't use because they rightfully fear the tadpole.

The raid on the grove
is messy, and suffers the same issues as large battles across the whole game. My main issue is that we get this huge army to fight
a few scared Tieflings
, but then
to fight the druids
I just get four crappy goblins? Minathra should be helping me there, not before.

Because the EA doesn't allow us to access the overland route to Moonrise Towers, the game essentially ends early for you if you manage convince Minthara to not kill you. Obviously this is a specific issue to EA, just something I wanted to point out.



Obviously there's a million other things to say, but I'll stop there for now. Overall though, bravo to you Larian for the progress made so far, and I eagerly await more content and the full release!

Last edited by ALVIG; 12/10/20 07:09 PM.
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Can agree with most of what you wrote down here, valid concerns. But what I'm most curious about... I took about 40h for my first run laugh How in all nine hells did you manage SEVERAL runs while exploring everything (at least in the first run)?

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Originally Posted by Usako
Can agree with most of what you wrote down here, valid concerns. But what I'm most curious about... I took about 40h for my first run laugh How in all nine hells did you manage SEVERAL runs while exploring everything (at least in the first run)?


hahaha a fair question. Working from home helps. DEFINITELY did not spend close to 40 hours on a single run. Mashed through a lot of dialogue on repeat playthroughs, and missed several entire side quests and areas on my first guy. Dialogue and cutscenes are a big chunk of the time, and if you skip them, you definitely can through it much quicker.

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I also agree with most of what you are saying. Especially with the thing where the goblins don't scatter after you killed the bosses: I thought that was the point?

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I agree with many of your points. This is a great post. A couple things that stood out to me which you mentioned:

"Mage hand shouldn't be for pushing people, it should be for pulling levers, pushing buttons, and setting off tripwires and mines from a safe distance. The only potential combat purpose it should serve is "pull the lever to drop the chandelier" or some such."

Absolutely! I keep posting this where I can, but classes need greater demarcation. There should be many more things only a Wizard can do. Many more things that only a Rogue can do. So on and so forth. "Oh crap, here's some magical situation and we need a Wizard, my Warrior doesn't know crap about magic" or "I wish I had a thief to pick this lock!" situations really should happen. Another way to say this is there needs to be real class-related consequences.

Anyway, great suggestions all around!

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Fine list of points. Dident read all dur spoilers but what I read I agree with

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I do agree that non-combat solutions should yield exp too

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Agreed, with practically everything.

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Originally Posted by Sigi98
I also agree with most of what you are saying. Especially with the thing where the goblins don't scatter after you killed the bosses: I thought that was the point?


Yeah this was one of the biggest things for me. I suppose the general note is there needs to be better narrative-gameplay relationships. If someone says something should happen, it should happen.

Originally Posted by TravelingBuddha
...but classes need greater demarcation. There should be many more things only a Wizard can do. Many more things that only a Rogue can do. So on and so forth. "Oh crap, here's some magical situation and we need a Wizard, my Warrior doesn't know crap about magic" or "I wish I had a thief to pick this lock!" situations really should happen. Another way to say this is there needs to be real class-related consequences.


I don't want to this to get toooo out of hand. Anyone should able to operate a set of thieves' tools, rogues should just be better at it. My point was more about a spell working as its indented, than class demarcation. I don't want to feel punished for not having a certain party member, but I do want to feel rewarded for choosing any ability or spell.

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I am going to add to what you said:

Background: Lifelong D&D since I was 10. Played 2nd, 3, 3.5, 4, and 5E. Know these games very well. Really like 5E overall.

Overall Positives: I mostly agree, however the implementation of the 5E ruleset and mechanics needs much more work imo. That said, the world so far is beautifully realized, character are handsome/beautiful, and the story, dialogue, skill checks all work for me (although some tweaks to reduce making multiple checks for one outcome could be done).

Character Creation: I agree with what you have said, and would like to add: Please give us roll for stats option. Specifically Roll 4d6, drop the lowest 1. I want to agree emphatically about starting equipment, that is REALLY needed.

UI: Largely agree with all your points here on the GOO warlock they might be still working on a substitution since telepathy A) is not needed in a game where one player controls all characters and B) The tadpole already does that. So it may be an in the works thing, at least I hope so. On initiative as well, sometimes when PCs have the same initiative it skips over more than one when you hit end turn, losing turns.

AI: I hyper agree X a billion about the throwables, the arsenal on these goblins is insane.

Balancing: The pool effects, while a cool idea in general, feel more like a DOS thing than a D&D thing. While some AoE bomb stuff like throwables etc exist in D&D, many of them come from spells more than mundane items and alchemy, and only last a single round. BG3 however, is absolutely riddled with them and it really makes it feel like an artifact of the ground effects in DOS instead of 5E.

I also agree about the no XP for peaceful resolution being an issue: During one somewhat sexy encounter, Shadowheart chides you if you don't avoid it, however, if you don't fight everything you are gimping your xp gain. This should absolutely be addressed.

Glitches: Only a few to report, mainly physics and model morphing when an PC/NPC gets killed sometimes.

Really solid post OP, agree with most of what you have said.


Last edited by Dominemesis; 12/10/20 06:50 PM.
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+1

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I'll add some I did not see above or maybe missed.


- I hope they will work on resting system - I bet it's not done yet. That said, 1 short rest per 1 long rest seems way too stingy and is a massive ball and chain to fighters, warlocks and whatever other short-rest dependent classes we will have. I hope in release they will at very least allow 2 short rests per long one. Of course long rest needs to have some sort of limiter that does not put you into unwinnable condition (as in your tadpole decides to pop anyway after 15 rests or something), but on the other hand does force you pace yourself and be smarter than just rolling face over long rest button whenever.

- Evil path needs to be much more enticing, we're introduced to this bunch of good and at time brilliant guys and charming characters, like the bards duo and the whole camp that squarely puts you into good path, but we don't have anything close to that on the baddies side - I'm sure Larian could add a few better leads there and also add a few dark, but charismatic characters to the bad side. Heck, maybe some sort of evil or chaotic neutral Bard that is as charming as that tiefling bard or funny like Volo. Going evil path already feels unnatural, there should be very apparent and very tangible benefit tangled before your face for it. You being actually hunted by them on orders does not help there either, going bad not only does not seem to give much benefits, but it feels outright lunacy too.

- Barrels and bookshelves madness from D:OS2 returns. There are just way too many interactable items that overwhelmingly contain nothing at all, but you are still compelled to open them all because they might contain an odd scroll or useful thing. I was not impressed with those back then and neither now here.

- Character Sheet is very lacking. I guess it's WIP, but I certainly hope we will be able to see all of our proficiencies, path bonuses, feats and maybe even a sneak peek of what comes next level or two. I would also like an option to rotate character or just show character for screenshots and such, maybe even with backgrounds you can select, because why not.

- More hotbars or smarter hotbars, was covered above, but I can't imagine how classes like clerics and wizards will be able to handle 5 ranks of spells or even more if it will be possible without going mad. Would not mind either proposed solution above or ability to add more rows and not just columns. Or heck even make that bar flexible as we like, if someone wants to make it 12x13 grid of madness or something and put it to the side or something, let it be.

- Party characters need to focus on a person you're addressing during conversations. Right now they just stare into horizon and it's weird. Guess this is WIP too.

- Allow felxible jumping in real time mode out of combat, for example if you try to move to a place that you can reach by jumping then you and party also should jump there automatically instead of this ritual of jumping as I call it where you select every party member and manually jump, seems like annoying for no reason.

- If you discovered a hidden item/switch/tracks - mark them clearly so we don't often have to stand there and wonder what exactly we spotted there. Our characters already spotted it, so it should be properly flagged.

- Seems like trader stock is generated when you first enter area and after that it's static - it's annoying to be honest because it can be a difference between getting excellent weapon/armor from get go or being starved for a good chunk of act 1. Make them reset stock once in a while.





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Originally Posted by ALVIG
I'm gonna do my best to break this up into sections, novel incoming, and spoilers ahead:


Background:

I'm a big 5e nerd, and I've been playing D&D for like 5 years or so. I'm coming at this post from the perspective of a "5e veteran", but not like a lifelong player, I was still young when the old BG games came out, so I'm not at all familiar with them. I have DMed for most of that time, and have DMed two games of BG: Descent Into Avernus (DIA). This feedback will be from the lens of someone familiar with D&D, but I'll try occasionally throw in a note from a more green perspective. I have not yet had a chance to try the multiplayer, so no feedback for that here, but I did do the evil playthrough, so I'll talk about that lower.

I played on Stadia, with a pretty solid internet connection. I did like 5 full run throughs each on different classes (just haven't finished ranger yet).


Overall Positives:

I definitely love the game as whole, and I'm excited to see the full release.
Generally speaking the changes from 5e are done well, and mostly make sense.
Visuals are fantastic, when functioning properly.
The writing is solid, only a few small points where things got weird.
The story overall is intriguing, even a few playthroughs deep I'm not sure what The Absolute is or wants, and I want to know more about my companions' backstories.
Ability descriptions and the like are done well, I expect people who haven't played D&D at all to have a fairly decent time getting into the game.

Okay, actual feedback and critique now...


Character creation:

It's so so good, but I have small gripes.

The hair and beard options should have a drop down menu with little pictures of them on blank heads, rather than the current click though system. It makes it very hard decide between Hair 3 and Hair 12 if I have to flip through all of them.

Nowhere does it explain (maybe it's tiny or hidden and I missed it) that having an odd score provides no benefit over the even score one under it. i.e., it doesn't explain that 14 STR and 15 STR are the same thing in terms of power, because they're both +2. This is a common thing for D&D noobs to be surprised by, and should be explained.

Unless my race gives me a bonus to a certain stat, It's impossible for me to achieve a score of 16 in it. I wanted to make a Drow cleric of Lolth, but they don't get a wisdom bonus, so I had to make her half-drow. The point buy system should be tweaked just enough so that anyone can get to 16 in any score, to make any race-class combo viable.

We NEED starting equipment choices. My fighter should get chainmail at the start so I can skimp on DEX, and Ranger Knights need that option too. That's just one example. We should also be given options of like "do you want the longsword, the battleaxe, or the warhammer" just for flavor.


UI:

Overall it's pretty good, but my main issue is with using it as a spellcaster. I'll just use Shadowheart as the example. She has waaaay too many icons. People have already said this, but spells that can be upcast should be stacked in the UI, like how Hex opens to let you choose the ability score. I think channel divinity should also stack and then open out into a menu, so D&D noobs realize the two different options use the same resource.

Speaking of Hex, how the hell do I re-cast it? Seriously, how? I have no idea. Make this clearer.

Dip should be a smaller, more obscure icon (or even removed from the game, since it makes no sense in 5e), and replaced by a dedicated Disengage icon.

I shouldn't have to jump to get through allies. In 5e, you can move through an ally's space at half speed. The game should allow for this, especially when I've allied myself with a huge bear in a thin hallway.

I don't know if it's a UI issue, or if it's intentional, but the Evoker's Sculpt Spells doesn't seem to be working properly. I should be able to drop a Shatter directly on myself and take no damage, but alas.

Also don't know if this is a UI bug or not, but do GOO warlocks really not get a 1st level passive ability? Seriously? I don't care if its telepathy or not, just give me something.

In many fights (particularly ones with ten or more participants) the initiative order is often displayed incorrectly.

Modifier to dice rolls should be additive, not subtractive. If the DC for a check is 13, it should always display as a 13, then next to the d20 there should be a big floating "+4" or whatever it is so I can see my total roll, and get the occasional cool feeling of rolling over a 20.

If I don't have Arcana proficiency, I should be able to make Gale make that check for me mid-convo. This is how group conversation works in D&D, people can chime in.

The trading UI is a hot mess. Why is the 600 gold magic item suddenly 1100 gold when I ask for it?

The icons for Action Surge and Second Wind should be swapped. Why heart make attack more but fist make heal?


AI:

Probably my biggest gripes with the game are here, since AI in general is complex as hell.

Also an issue with battles over ten people, enemies just skip their turns randomly. Some even stay idle the whole time. (If you go evil and raid the grove, the druids are a prime example)

I'll add my voice to the chorus: THEY HAVE TOO MANY GODS DAMNED THROWABLES. It's hard to make educated guesses about the difficulty of an encounter when you can't imagine how many literal grenades they have in their pockets.

I once had an option reference Astarion's master by name, even though he and I hadn't yet had a conversation about him.

They sometimes seem a little too smart. Particularly I'm talking about the lower-ranking goblins, worgs, and other animalistic enemies. As a DM, I typically have dumb creatures just attack whoever is closest or biggest, not go around for a sick flanking maneuver on the wizard at the back. I expect this behavior from goblins led by someone smarter, like Dror or Minathra, but not every encounter. In particular when I most recently fought the Minotaurs, they REFUSED to attack Lae'zel with her high AC, and kept going after Shadowheart and my custom wizard.


Balancing and Ability Tweaks:

Presented in no particular order:

Acid should fade in two or three turns.

Fire should not hurt when you move OUT of it, only when you move into it, or start your turn in it, and you should not remain on fire after you leave it.

I like that the fire spell/arrow + grease/vines/oil effect is in the game (a common house rule), but it's definitely too strong as it stands.

If I'm an evoker wizard, surface effects such as the fire from Firebolt or the slippery ice from Ray of Frost should NOT affect my allies.

Rogues should also receive "Cunning Action: Disengage" at level 2. I've seen goblins using it, so I know you can make it happen.

Speaking of rogues, the only way to get a hold of a shortsword in the early game is to pick one off the dead bodies in the Nautiloid's helm room as you run toward the transponder. Don't make Astarion use only a single dagger for too long if I don't have the foresight to loot bodies as a I focus on escaping hell.

There's really no reason to choose to the Quasit over the Imp as a warlock. Buff the Quasit!

Currently with no EXP rewarded for peaceful resolution, I don't feel compelled to take spells like minor illusion, friends, charm person, detect thoughts, etc.

On the same note, the simple solution to the "EXP for peace" problem is : No EXP rewarded for killing creatures marked as Green, and automatically mark creatures as Green once peace has been made, giving the party all the EXP they're worth.

Small note, but: Dror Ragzlin has a hammer that can knock people back in a room with a bottemless pit. The instakill potential against a level 3 party is kind of a lot.

I was worried about shove and fall damage being OP, but so far I'm ok with it. It becomes very precarious around bottomless pits, so the less of those the game has the better.

Mage hand shouldn't be for pushing people, it should be for pulling levers, pushing buttons, and setting off tripwires and mines from a safe distance. The only potential combat purpose it should serve is "pull the lever to drop the chandelier" or some such.

Many of the explosive traps are VERY strong, imo.

When I spot a trap, or anything hidden, it should cancel my current movement, and the glow effect needs to be much more noticeable. Maybe even force camera rotation to look at it.

Trap disarm tools and thieves' tools should be rolled into one item.

Getting back into the temple of Selune after killing the leaders but NOT having killed the courtyard goblins is a bit too hard. I thought they were supposed to have scattered with their leaders dead?


Glitches:

Crashes were thankfully rare, but I've had a few small other glitches.

Others have reported it, but there's the "the turn that never ends" glitch, that seems to also be able to happen to player characters.

Whacky waving inflatable arm flailing corpse!

Less of a glitch and more of just a "it's EA and it needs polish" thing, but the camera for me rolling a 20 just loves to go into walls.

Sometimes my attack animation plays out, but it never confirms a hit or miss, just wastes my action. Most common with melee weapons, I feel.

EDIT: On more than one playthrough, the conversation with Gehk, the duergar captain at the underdark docks, is super buggy if you approach him with Glut in tow. It'll repeat his one line and then just end without initiating combat, letting me stack up around him and attack.


The E V I L playthrough:

Obviously spoilers below if you haven't done this yourself yet.

My favorite thing about this is the dreams with your "lover", and especially the image of
Baldur's Gate on fire.
Every player should get to experience something similar, even if the dialogue is different and they come slower. It's a shame to waste such cool trippy cutscenes on dialogue options many players won't use because they rightfully fear the tadpole.

The raid on the grove
is messy, and suffers the same issues as large battles across the whole game. My main issue is that we get this huge army to fight
a few scared Tieflings
, but then
to fight the druids
I just get four crappy goblins? Minathra should be helping me there, not before.

Because the EA doesn't allow us to access the overland route to Moonrise Towers, the game essentially ends early for you if you manage convince Minthara to not kill you. Obviously this is a specific issue to EA, just something I wanted to point out.



Obviously there's a million other things to say, but I'll stop there for now. Overall though, bravo to you Larian for the progress made so far, and I eagerly await more content and the full release!



BRILLIANT!!! AGREED WITH IT ALL!!!! <3

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First, thank you OP for this incredible post!
About me: I'm playing D&D 5e since 4 years now and DM'd almost all the time. I'm currently playing a mostly good/neutral ranger solo-playthrough and started a playthrough as a life cleric today with my gf and played a couple of hours so far.

Before anything else: I'm having lots of fun with the game, I think it is allready a beautiful game and im very happy if it just stays the way it allready is.

I agree with all points made in the original post by ALVIG besides the spoilers, which i didn't read for obvious reasons and the points made by Gaidax.
I'll reenforce the most important ones real quick and maybe add a little to some:

- Starting Stats for "suboptimal" Race/Class combinations are a bummer. I already noticed a +2 on Wis as cleric is not that fun to play, especially with how hard the game gets sometimes, especially if you roll poorly for one or two rolls with suboptimal stats you almost automaticly lose every fight.
- Starting Equipment! Just some choices would help alot!

- The hotbars are fully stacked with spells way to fast when playing a Mage or Cleric. The points made by both Gaidax and ALVIG are perfect. Stack the upcastable spells and things using the same resource (channel divinity) or give us way more slots to place AND see them at the same time (placing them in the second bar feels straightup bad).

- jump/disengage are two things that are weird to have in the same action. split it up, and maybe make jump a free action, as part of movement. Additionally what Gaidax said about the "jumping ritual" getting annoying pretty quick, having to click through all the characters.
I would also add, that pathfinding is sometimes really weird. The selected character will jump down a ledge next to a ladder and take damage, while the rest of the party takes the ladder- This is hopefully a kind of bug that is allready known though.

- Make modifiers add to the roll, not substract from the target number. It feels better to roll a 7 when your bonus is +5 and the target is a 10, then roll a 2 and the target being a 5. Same goes for rolling over 20 (or under 1 if you're bad at something^^).

- AI-wise I found it really annoying to have Lae'zel in the frontline, right in the face and dishing out mad damage, but never having her attacked all fight long in basicly every second fight. No matter if I fought some spiders, Gnolls or Goblins, they all seemed to know who is the most vulnerable (aka lowest AC) and hunt them down at all cost.
I have no problem with smart enemys (aka 10 Int and above) using this tactic, but phasespiders are a bit weird to hardfocus the mage with 13 AC and completely ignoring the scary big and mean Githyanki that hits them for 20 dmg with a good roll.

- Show me what I just found with the perception check I made. I often stood there wondering what I am supposed to see now, that I didn't see before. Make it so obvious that even me, the -2 Int/Wis reallife boi sitting in front of the screen notices whats going on laugh


- finally, probably the most important part: Give XP for non-combat solutions to encounters. I have basicly no encouragement to talk my way out of a fight, except it being a potetially deadly encounter and I don't want to risk it. Being a rather pacifist character is punished pretty hard.

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This is amazing feedback. I hope the devs take heed.

I also experienced those whacky bugs you mentioned. I especially hate the d20 zoom into the inside of a wall, depriving me of any satisfaction as I wonder what just happened.

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I totally agree with the below too, there are too many interactive but useless containers and items just like DOS2.

>> Barrels and bookshelves madness from D:OS2 returns. There are just way too many interactable items that overwhelmingly contain nothing at all, but you are still compelled to open them all because they might contain an odd scroll or useful thing. I was not impressed with those back then and neither now here.


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I didn't read the spoilers, but I agree with all of the OP's points, but some definitely resonate more than others.

Most of my DND experience has been through playing DDO (3e?) for 5+ years, and a 5e campaign with colleagues (over the last year).
I'm a "smell the roses" / "explore every corner" / "pick up every damned book I find" type of player. I'm still on my first play through with steam showing 60 hours played.

The points that resonated most with me are:

  • jumping... If the selected character jumps over a gap, the rest of the party should just be able to follow.
  • starting gear...
  • seeing the bonus to stats when allocating
  • AI is a little too smart. My poor wizard always cops ALL the agro, even before they do anything.


I also think the ground-effects are a bit OTT. It's obvious to me that's a result of using the systems from the D:OS engine. I loved it in D:OS2, but think they should be toned down a bit here.
The following AI is terrible. I think I've had to reload due to one of my characters agro'ing a mob, or walking through something detrimental more than anything other issue in the game.

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+1

especially peaceful resolutions, it reminds me too much of DOSII.

Why try to talk/charm/magic/sneak our way out of a combat, when all it leads to is a gimped character?

And when they add more difficulties, we are just going to have to murder hobo, which sucks honestly.


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