Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Do you need a crafting system in the game?

I do not want to see the crafting system in this game as in Dragon Age - Inquisition, this will distract from the gameplay and make the already complex game mechanics more difficult.

But I'm interested in your opinion

As long as anyone who isn't interested in crafting can choose not to do it, I'm game. Considering the amount of things you the player can make yourself in a tabletop 5e game (if you've got the right kit for it), removing any and all crafting would feel off, imo.

I honestly don't like crafting in single-player RPGs. It just ends up cluttering the world and your inventory with a crapload of random ingredient items.

I very much like how its currently implemented: as part of quests for specific (powerful and/or interesting) items.

Even more so that the area where you find the bark is very far ahead (taking the default path) from where you get the quest. It means I have something to look forward to and search for when exploring new areas, instead of getting a quest and then backtracking to where I know the ingredient is.

Oh yeah, I don't mind crafting QUESTS. That's perfectly cool. I just don't like systemic crafting.

i dont necessarily need a traditional crafting system in a game like BG, but the one that bg3 has as currently constituted doesnt really feel well or fully incorporated into the game yet in terms of mechanics - i also wished the game did a better job in providing a crafting tutorial than what we currently get, but that may be just user error or part of ea. in my playthroughs the crafting i discovered was when i was already fairly far into the act and crafting at that point felt like sidetracking from the tadpole trying to eat my brain, but i would also assume its tied into the camp mechanic as the narrative progresses into later acts

I like the idea of gathering stuff and crafting it into cosumables and possibly, from time to time, powerful items. Discovering ways to make stuff, from dishes to erbal remedies could add an interesting layer to the game without unballancing it because the number of ingredients needed to craft stuff may be rationed as needed.

I don't mind crafting as long as it doesn't take up a lot of time. I would like to see potions and poisons craftable, maybe only special ones. and armour styles as well.

Well, I was this close to write a long post on things that I like and don't like about crafting in RPGs and how BG2 stroke the perfect balance for me, but on second thought these two replies pretty much summarized my opinion on the topic.

P.S. Inventory clutter aside there's also another problem I have with elaborated systemic crafting: it's invariably either completely pointless or so overpowered that makes most of the game's loot across the adventure completely pointless.

I also like individual, unique craftables based on discovery in the game. Like, there's no quest to reforge that one spear. You just find half of a spear, and somewhere else you find the other half of a spear. Nothing tells you to do anything with those. But if you decide to take them to an anvil and combine them, boom, you get a cool magic spear. That's good crafting to me. Not the Divinity style where you feel like you have to collect and horde tons of possibly useless junk because it MIGHT be used in some recipe for some item you're gonna want later on.

Well, I count these as examples of "crafting quests" as well, even if they are not explicitly stated (EDIT- weird example, by the way, given that this is exactly something that happens in this EA. Unless it was a reference on purpose?).

Another variant of the same formula is that rare monsters occasionally drop some rare material and when you'll show it to a blacksmith later in the game he'll actually tell you "Yeah, I can do you stuff with this stuff".

I was talking about the actual thing in this EA, yeah.

I like the rare monster material thing too. Like, I was hoping the would drop some armor plates or something, like the Ankhegs of Baldur's Gate.

I agree. Crafting should be, but only in such a limited way.
When the player is given a full-fledged crafting system, this leads to the following results:
1. A pile of garbage in the inventory
2. It takes a very long time
3. People who don't like crafting will suffer because their weapons and armor will be worse than what can be crafted
4. Complicates game mechanics
5. Kills the interest to look for interesting weapons, to buy something from NPC merchants. Why, if you can craft an imbalance?

In the Inquisition, I had to read forums, look for ingredients, blueprints, make dragon armor and weapons for everyone, insert runes there, look for these damn great master runes all over the world ... yes, there is excitement in this. But if I didn't, I would be in a disadvantageous position compared to those who were engaged in crafting and distracts from the plot. The plot and freedom in BG3 are much better than in the Inquisition. Companions and romantic interests in BG3 after the Inquisition are just amazing, this is a completely different level. This was the weakest point of the Inquisition ... well, this is already offtopic.

Besides the logistical pains of it, just the fantasy of crafting doesn't fit with what I want to be doing in D&D, or a fantasy game in general. I signed up to be an adventurer, not a blue collar worker sitting around laboriously making stuff. Like, I have piles of gold from dragon hoards and shit, why I gotta make my own arrows or whatever?

Ya I want crafting, blacksmith, alchemy, enchanting, gathering, etc. You could craft a homunculus/golem, enchant, make scrolls, & magic weapons if I remember correctly just from the artificer class in 3.5

This went along with warforged since they don't heal by normal means, artificers could patch them up

How to make homunculus.. I remember on YouTube there were popular attempts to make a homunculus using an egg in real life a couple of years ago. Sorry for offtopic

Oh jeeze. Outside of some quest or special items i think i've never touched larian style "crafting" in DOS2. Its just there so you can abuse barrelmancy to lunatic levels for the meme videos on youtube.

funny, ill have to look that up. thx

that.

I think the way BG did crafting was the best. You had a small amount of very specific item obtainable at very specific places that you could use to craft cool and powerful gear. that is very limited, but it doesn't fill your inventory with crap and the results are always worth it.

The only way I’d enjoy a complex crafting system would be if all ingredients went to a separate inventory in your camp, find recipes in game, click recipe at crafting station, items automatically are deducted, item pops out camp/equip/ware option.

Dragging ingredients over to a window, having them clutter up your main inventory, and worst off weight just doesn’t seem worth it.

Like BG2, a few very rare optional items that span a chapter or two in the form of quests wouldn’t be bad or hidden ‘crafting’ quests like the golden pantaloons.