I wasn't even ableto get through the first two or three hours of DOS2, so yeah, BG3 is better. It wasn't even that I disliked DOS2, there was just a weird something about it that put me off.
This is part of my problem with DOS 2 as well. I love BG3, but I'm struggling with DOS 2.
The setting and races and magic and characters are all kinda creepy and weird. I'm still trying to give it a shot, but like I said, it's a bit challenging. Cannibal elves for starters. They EAT people to gain their memories? Eek. Sorry. That puts me off. Elves have always been graceful, elegant beings, but in DOS 2 they are flesh eating memory thieves who can pry into people's pasts. I normally like to be elves, but I couldn't bring myself to do it in that game. I MUCH more prefer elves in BG3 (say what you like that they are humans with ears, they at least aren't emaciated, creepy cannibals). The fact that I can carry around with me people's severed heads and legs and arms and have an elf eat them just...
Then there are the lizards. Lizards are cocky in general, but Red Prince is over the top. I tried to like him, but I find him insulting and I have a hard time caring about trying to help him reclaim his empire.
Dwarves seem like the best race, because most humans are jerks too. So far, most dwarves I've met seem friendly, and I like Beast okay. Lohse is my favorite origin character with Beast and Ifan coming in second. Jury's not in about either yet.
In short, I'm having the hardest time liking anyone (except for Lohse who has some Satan spirit in her, so I can't totally trust even her). Most characters, including Fane, Red Prince, Sebille, and the talking squirrel with his dead cat mount, are rude, cutting, insulting, and they make me not want to care about what happens to any of them. Even some of the children are brats and a good number of animals as well. Maybe it's just because I'm on the horrible Fort Joy island, but sheesh!
At least with BG3, I feel like it's more "normal". Monsters are, in general, the creepy and twisted ones, which is why they are monsters. Humans, dwarves, elves, halflings, tieflings, etc. are, for the most part, friendly. I mean, you still have some seriously rude people who I wonder why they have to be so rude, but it's nothing like the condescending and mean spirited people I've encountered in DOS 2. Even Astarion who puts a knife to our throats winds up at least trying to make light of it and joke with you about things. He doesn't continue to berate you and insult you... for the most part.
All this said, it would be nice if people like Pink Haired Tiefling gave us a bit more of a friendly welcome. Why on earth would she think we're from Zariel trying to get her soul coin back, and why would she be so hostile to people who just saved her from a bugbear assassin? I could see her being nervous and like, "Oh... um... you smell like the Hells. Are you... are you from there? Were you, perhaps, sent by someone?" Instead, she assumes we're from Zariel and is rude, mean and then for some reason says, "Now I feel sorry for you," in a sarcastic manner before she gives us the soul coin? Makes no sense.
Anyway, certain things that AREN'T better in BG3 are:
1. Item Management - Pretty much the same from what I can tell. So much stuff you pick up and waste time managing for no good reason. You don't NEED all that stuff because you can get by without it easily, and all you do with it is waste time trying to bounce it between people to avoid encumbrance, and then you sell it for gold - and it's usually not even all that much gold. I'd rather find more gold and less crap.
2. Resting - Neither game has a good resting mechanic system. I'm REALLY hoping Larian gives us a better Long/Short rest system. In fact, I'd say that at least DOS 2 had camps ON the game map - not some nebulous other plane of existence. But I will say this also for DOS 2. At least if you're going to make it so players should rest between every fight, DOS 2 doesn't even try to make it seem like you shouldn't. BG3 story makes it seem like you should long rest VERY infrequently, but then it has dialogue attached to long rest and makes it hard to not long rest between fights. Besides that, with no penalty for long resting, why not? (Camping supplies really doesn't limit this at all.)
3. The Map! The map in DOS 2 is WAY better than BG3. It makes sense and isn't meshing like 6 different World Map locations together into one.
I'll stop there. I think that's enough. In conclusion, BG3 is, for the most part, better than DOS 2. I CERTAINLY didn't have a problem getting through my first BG3 EA playthrough even when encounters were harder and I had to reload more. I WANTED to get to the end of it. DOS 2, not so much. I'm hoping it gets better as I keep pressing ahead. Still, there are a few items that DOS 2 does better, and a few not so good things that BG3 has inherited from DOS 2 that I hope they get rid of - like useless Item Management.
