Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Helmets

Never understood why helmets in CRPGs did stuff like offer a bonus to saves or whatever. Helmets also should not just cancel Critical Hits. If you are hit in the head with a hammer, a helmet can help, but it is still more of an effective hit.

I suggest leather caps, if you are even going to use helmets as gear in BG3 should provide Resistance to Slashing or piercing damage on Critical Hits only, and only applied to the Critical Hit Dice. Metal helmets should provide the same but for all weapon types. Magic Critical Hits would be dealt as normal.

In other words, Kaedyn is wearing a Leather cap. He is Critically Hit with a longsword. Normally, without cap, damage would be 2d8+2. Enemy rolls a 3 and a 5. So, without cap, damage would be 10. But, cap cuts the second die only in half. Thus, 3 and 2 for a total of 7 damage. Still more damage, just reduced.

Likewise, Vexir is wearing a metal helmet and is hit with a hammer. Crit. 2d8+2 for damage with a normal Crit. However, helmet halves the second die even with a hammer. So, same damage results.

I have no strong feelings in this matter one way or another ...
I just wonder if our characters that are wearing metal helmet, should not have perception disadvantage, or some debuff to outweight protection ... after all, almost every helmet i even seen at least a little bit reduced sight.

This is the kind of fine tuning that could be done after the basics are right.

It doesn't matter how helmets behave mechanically as long as combat is just about high ground and cheesing in various ways. Nothing does.

Mechanically, I'd like helmets to have some kind of tradeoff. So that NOT wearing a helmet could also be a good option. It's silly if every mage or rogue in leather wear a full metal helmet for protection just because they can.

I don't like the "hide helmet" feature either. If someone wears a helmet it needs to show. Maybe it's significant mechanically or to reveal a faction or something. You might as well have a "hide armor" feature to make your full plate look like a chainmail bikini. If not wearing a helmet had a mechanical reason, you would have less reason to hide them.

Sorry I'm not going to bother going to look up myself, but do helmets innately have the bonuses in 5e that they do in BG3 or is this more Larian homebrew?

Larian homebrew. Helmets are not gear in 5e. It's just expected that you are likely wearing one if you have a suit of armor.

There are magic items that can be attuned to as helmets, but the helmets stopping crits is a thing from BG1+2 I think (I might be remembering wrong). It is homebrew but I don't mind it too much cause there is precedent, however if it turns out to be too unbalanced I wouldn't be sad to see it gone

A perception disadvantage would be a good idea for helmets. Gain the advantage of no crits, but lose perception. Sounds like a fair trade off.

This is correct. Helmets in Bg1 and 2 prevented critical hits, but for some reason did not help enemies wearing them.

As in Bg1 and Bg2 many hardcore AD&D players complained about this homebrew change and many others that Bioware made in regards to these games.

Its almost...like...history is...repeating itself.

e.Some changes Bioware made were extremely stupid, indeed.
Like when they forgot to give bows a penalty if used at close range in BG1 and as a result "GIVE EVERYONE A BOW AND SHOOT WHILE YOUR SUMMONS TANK IN FIRST LINE" became the most exploitable strategy in the entire game.
It made cakewalk even dealing with the final boss.

I think they fixed this in the EE, though.

It does have a way of doing that.

Thank you both it has been to long.

Ok I'm actually glad then that it is in fact a homebrew because I'm not a fan of it myself, especially in regards to stopping crits. Turning cirts off with headgear doesn't make sense to me mechanically since crit does not equal headshot, but also if you can just buy everyone a cheap hat and remove crits from your party's concerns why bother with crits at all.

I'm sure a good 5e mod will fix this or have options. Personally I'm fine with helmets simply being another potential magic item slot &/or just a cosmetic thing. Not every piece of gear HAS to have innate abilities to it.

I think it is more to do with them having to have gear with that stat, and the other gear is more focused on buffing other stats. I really doesn't matter if they put it on chest (though it would make more sense admittedly) or legs or head. They just have to provide certain stat changes on X number of gear for the game, especially in EA considering they are probably working on the spreadsheets still. It may change by the time live comes out. But if it is either magical gear, or premium gear (ie: colored gear) yes, it is standard to have stats on it.