Baldur's Gate 3

[Max Peck]

The most recent crash, which happened as soon as I tried to continue from the most recent save, took down my Steam client as well as the game. I'll try disabling the Steam overlay and cloud saves and see if that makes any difference. I've also bypassed the Larian launcher, after seeing posts about it causing problems for other players.

If this doesn't fix it, I'm pretty much out of ideas for troubleshooting the problem. My drivers are up to date, my hardware exceeds the recommended system specs for the game, and I'm not having problems with anything else aside from BG3.

[gbasden]

I know it doesn't mean anything, but I don't think my wife or I have had a single crash in the entire time we've been playing. I'm a pretty standard Intel CPU / NVidia GPU setup.

[Max Peck]

It was fine until relatively recently. I've seen posts by some people who started having crashes after some of the more recent patches/hotfixes, so that might be part of it. It also seems to be more of an issue since I started Act 2. I'm tempted to give in to my altitis and try starting a new character and see if it is crashing in Act I now or not.

[Max Peck]

To test my "Is it Act 2?" theory, I started a Shadowheart playthrough. So far, no crashes.

I've been seeing a lot of debate about Shadowheart vs Karlach in terms who is the best romantic partner. This should allow me to square the circle by going with Shadowheart and Karlach...

[Jaymann]

For me Karlach was doomed when I found I could get a sweet robe, Sword of Tyr, and 3 pieces of near Helldusk Armor if I took her down.

[Jaymann]

I don't know if it is a glitch or just glitchy, but I'm in Act 3, and every time anyone speaks to Withers, he says:
"You owe a debt to Elminster, I can collect on his behalf."

The choices are:

Pay him.
Maybe Later.
Leave.

But paying him ($200) does not clear the conversation. Makes no difference if you choose maybe later, so I have been going with that.

[Max Peck]

I was today years old when I stumbled onto the fact that you only need to use the Mask of the Shapeshifter to cast the spell, but not to maintain it. Looking like an entire party of, say, Githyanki can be handy under the right circumstances.

[Max Peck]

I woke up to a big patch today.

Patch #6

Version Number: 4.1.1.4763283

Ah, two days after Valentine’s Day. Cupid has shot his arrows, the chocolates have gone on sale, and the flowers have started to wilt. The perfect time to release a patch!

Patch 6 for Baldur’s Gate 3 launches today, and it’s packed full of quality-of-life improvements, fixes, and a little bit of romance.

[Jaymann]

Thanks for the heads up, had I not checked it was scheduled for tomorrow. That's a lot of GB for better kissing animations. But the most important update is:

If you Long Rest with only alcohol as camp supplies, you will now get the new Hungover condition for 10 turns.

[Unagi]

What’s that, a 60 second hangover ?

[Max Peck]

I've been noticing a weird tendency for opponents to get taken down to exactly one HP fairly often. Is there some sort of saving throw mechanic in D&D 5E that causes that, or is it just Larian cooking the RNG a bit. It's been happening enough that it doesn't feel like random chance, although I suppose that's also a possibility.

[Jaymann]

I've been noticing a weird tendency for opponents to get taken down to exactly one HP fairly often. Is there some sort of saving throw mechanic in D&D 5E that causes that, or is it just Larian cooking the RNG a bit. It's been happening enough that it doesn't feel like random chance, although I suppose that's also a possibility.

I think those are a result of death saving throws.

[Max Peck]

OK, that would explain it. I've seen references to items and such that affect death saving throws, but hadn't looked into under what conditions those saving throws occur.

[Zarathud]

There are a few feats and spells which do this. For example, a barbarian in rage. An orc or half orc’s endurance. Death ward. Heroic destiny feat. Many more.

Magic missile is your friend.

[naednek]

I started over on the easiest mode, and man this game is much more enjoyable. I always sucked at Turn based rpgs but really wanted to experience the story, so this is actually fun. Once I beat this, I might go back to the Divinity games and do the same.

[Daehawk]

I was looking at the figures for BG3.

Supposedly Larian spent $100 million to make it and earned $657 million.

nuts numbers. I can remember when either Wing Commander 3 or 4 cost $1 to $4 million to make that that was considered a crazy amount of money to spend making a pc game at the time.

[Jaymann]

No wonder they are not interested in doing micro transactions.

[hepcat]

Larian has been around a while and has never gone down that road. They’ve built a reputation as a gamer friendly company.

[Max Peck]

Baldur's Gate 3 Devs Working on Official Mod Support Plan, Including for Consoles

If you're a Baldur's Gate 3 modder who's been frustrated with having to uninstall, reinstall, update, and re-juggle your mods every time a new patch is released, fear not: it sounds like developer Larian Studios has your back, and official mod support is on its way.
...

We are working on official mod support, and have been for a while. We want the very best for you, which includes establishing a pipeline that lets mod authors release their mods across different platforms. Together with the platform holders, we are working on making this a reality, and are forming a team to support mod curation. We’re aiming to offer modding support for things like classes, UI, customisation, spells, and certain assets and game mechanics. As this is no small task, we hope to introduce the initial stages of modding support in our next big patch, which is still several months away. Frustrated as you might be now, we’re keen to work with you on this - and have plans to reach out to popular mod authors to talk further and work together to avoid issues in the future.

[Jaymann]

I saw an interesting speculation that Larian is working on Icewind Dale 3. It was based on Larian recording ice sounds at night to avoid ambient noise pollution. A bit of a stretch, but it could happen.

[naednek]

I started over on the easiest mode, and man this game is much more enjoyable. I always sucked at Turn based rpgs but really wanted to experience the story, so this is actually fun. Once I beat this, I might go back to the Divinity games and do the same.

Playing this on beginner mode was a great decision. It's actually still challenging enough and I get to progress. I'm fine with that.

[El Guapo]

I started over on the easiest mode, and man this game is much more enjoyable. I always sucked at Turn based rpgs but really wanted to experience the story, so this is actually fun. Once I beat this, I might go back to the Divinity games and do the same.

Playing this on beginner mode was a great decision. It's actually still challenging enough and I get to progress. I'm fine with that.

Usually with RPGs I wind up turning the difficulty up and down as the game goes on. I want a mild level of challenge to keep me interested, but I never want to re-try a fight five, ten, etc. times to get it right.

[Max Peck]

Apparently it's possible to get Raphael's Helldusk Armor as soon as Act 1. You have to avoid talking to him as long as possible, such that he'll eventually just show up in camp. Then once he's in camp you knock him out and loot the armor.

OMG I have an Act 1 playthrough, I am totally going to try that.

Here's the details.

I'm not sure if they've finally patched this exploit, but it doesn't work with my Oathbreaker paladin in my current playthrough. When Raphael shows up in camp and I cast the silence spell, both the Oathbreaker Knight npc and Scratch become hostile even though they aren't affected by the spell, and once the fighting starts Raphael joins in as well. Either they've fixed the exploit or it just doesn't work with the Oathbreaker Knight present in the camp.

[Jaymann]

Apparently it's possible to get Raphael's Helldusk Armor as soon as Act 1. You have to avoid talking to him as long as possible, such that he'll eventually just show up in camp. Then once he's in camp you knock him out and loot the armor.

OMG I have an Act 1 playthrough, I am totally going to try that.

Here's the details.

I'm not sure if they've finally patched this exploit, but it doesn't work with my Oathbreaker paladin in my current playthrough. When Raphael shows up in camp and I cast the silence spell, both the Oathbreaker Knight npc and Scratch become hostile even though they aren't affected by the spell, and once the fighting starts Raphael joins in as well. Either they've fixed the exploit or it just doesn't work with the Oathbreaker Knight present in the camp.

I recommend you try it without those two in camp (possibly before you break your oath). From my playthroughs, this is how I did it:

1. Make sure Shadowheart is in your party and has the Silence spell.

2. Wander around past the Blighted Village just before the broken bridge until Raphie shows up.

3. Choose a character not engaged in the conversation and shoot him with an arrow so he vanishes.

4. Take the exit above the goblin camp that "leaves" Act 1 (though you can come back).

5. He shows up in camp. Cast Silence on him, and with non-lethal toggled on attack with your strongest melee attacker.

Notes: Set to the easiest difficulty available so you can do enough damage. Once he is knocked out and looted you can knock him out more times and his gold and liquor respawn. I was unable to do this in Honor Mode because I could not do sufficient damage.

[Max Peck]

Apparently it's possible to get Raphael's Helldusk Armor as soon as Act 1. You have to avoid talking to him as long as possible, such that he'll eventually just show up in camp. Then once he's in camp you knock him out and loot the armor.

OMG I have an Act 1 playthrough, I am totally going to try that.

Here's the details.

I'm not sure if they've finally patched this exploit, but it doesn't work with my Oathbreaker paladin in my current playthrough. When Raphael shows up in camp and I cast the silence spell, both the Oathbreaker Knight npc and Scratch become hostile even though they aren't affected by the spell, and once the fighting starts Raphael joins in as well. Either they've fixed the exploit or it just doesn't work with the Oathbreaker Knight present in the camp.

I recommend you try it without those two in camp (possibly before you break your oath). From my playthroughs, this is how I did it:

1. Make sure Shadowheart is in your party and has the Silence spell.

2. Wander around past the Blighted Village just before the broken bridge until Raphie shows up.

3. Choose a character not engaged in the conversation and shoot him with an arrow so he vanishes.

4. Take the exit above the goblin camp that "leaves" Act 1 (though you can come back).

5. He shows up in camp. Cast Silence on him, and with non-lethal toggled on attack with your strongest melee attacker.

Notes: Set to the easiest difficulty available so you can do enough damage. Once he is knocked out and looted you can knock him out more times and his gold and liquor respawn. I was unable to do this in Honor Mode because I could not do sufficient damage.

I've done it successfully with a different character, but it was several weeks ago, so there might have been have been a hotfix since then that plugged the exploit. Unfortunately, I didn't think to make a permanent save prior to breaking the oath. I had been planning to break the oath at some point (this is my Dark Urge character, so Oathbreaker was part of the plan), but didn't know beforehand that the particular action I took would trigger it. As it stands, the oldest save I have is after that point, so there's no going back for a do-over on this character. If I'm feeling energetic, I suppose I could roll up a new character and do a speed-run through the bare minium in Act I to see if it still works absent the Oathbreaker Knight in camp.

[Max Peck]

I did a speed run through Act 1 this morning with a new character and found that the exploit does still work. It must be one or more of the additional NPCs in my Oathbreaker's camp that is incompatible with it.

[Max Peck]

Larian is finished with Baldur's Gate: 'We're going to move away from D&D and we're going to start making a new thing'

Bad news for anyone hoping for a Baldur's Gate 3 expansion, Baldur's Gate 4, or anything else Dungeons and Dragons-related from Larian Studios: Speaking at GDC today, Larian CEO Swen Vincke said the company is finished with its D&D adventure and is now moving on to something new.

Vincke said in January that he's already at work formulating Larian's next game, which he warned "is not what you think." He didn't get into exactly which way it's not what we think, though, and as far as that goes I do think it will be an RPG—that's what Larian does, after all. But it won't be Baldur's Gate.

"We are a company of big ideas. We are not a company that's made to create DLCs or expansions," Vincke said during his GDC address. "We tried that actually, a few times. It failed every single time. It's not our thing. Life is too short. Our ambitions are very large.

"And so like Gustav, Baldur's Gate will always have a warm spot in our heart. We'll forever be proud of it but we're not going to continue in it. We're not going to make new expansions which everybody is expecting. We're not going to make Baldur's Gate 4 which everybody is expecting us to do. We're going to move on. We're going to move away from D&D and we're going to start making a new thing."

Gustav was Vincke's dog, sometimes called Tav for short, who sadly died in February. Gustav was also the namesake of Larian's internal codename for Baldur's Gate 3, before it was revealed to the public.

[El Guapo]

Soooo.... Divinity Original Sin 3?

[Jaymann]

That explains why the default character name in BG3 is Tav. But why were they crunching snow in the middle of the night...

[Kraken]

I guess I missed the spring sale. I'd like to play BG3, but I don't want it $60 worth ($70 with DLC). Wishlisted.

[Skinypupy]

As much as it sucks that we won’t get any more BG from Larian, I can’t help but respect a company who drops one of, if not the best RPG ever…then just walks off into the sunset because they want to do something else.

[Blackhawk]

Maybe. There's a lot of drama going on at Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast right now. They may be wanting to extricate themselves from it.

[Moliere]

Horny companions in Baldur's Gate

[Jaymann]

Fired this back up after a long hiatus, it's as good as I remember. Here is my current dream team:



Mystique: Level 5 Ranger Sharpshooter/Archer with Titanstring Bow and Club of Hill Giant Strength. She also handles thieving duties.

The Sword: Level 5 Fighter/Githyanki hireling with Silver Sword of the Astral Plane. Needed a Gith to take advantage of the sword, and Lae'zel is much too annoying.

Gale: Level 5 Cleric with the Infernal Robe. Will need him for the end game and don't need whiny Shadowheart.

The Monk: Level 5 Duergar hireling (free invis at level 5) with Helldusk Armour and Ring of Protection. Current AC = 24.

Am mopping the floor with any baddies foolish enough to take me on.

Eventually I will recruit Minthara and she will replace The Sword, using the disguise mask to fake being Githyanki.

[Kurth]

I saw an interesting speculation that Larian is working on Icewind Dale 3. It was based on Larian recording ice sounds at night to avoid ambient noise pollution. A bit of a stretch, but it could happen.

Finally started BG3 on PS5, and I’m loving it. Icewind Dale would be awesome!!!

[Kurth]

I saw an interesting speculation that Larian is working on Icewind Dale 3. It was based on Larian recording ice sounds at night to avoid ambient noise pollution. A bit of a stretch, but it could happen.

Finally started BG3 on PS5, and I’m loving it. Icewind Dale would be awesome!!!

Shit. I should have kept reading. Oh well.

[Jaymann]

I saw an interesting speculation that Larian is working on Icewind Dale 3. It was based on Larian recording ice sounds at night to avoid ambient noise pollution. A bit of a stretch, but it could happen.

Finally started BG3 on PS5, and I’m loving it. Icewind Dale would be awesome!!!

Shit. I should have kept reading. Oh well.

Ya, looks not to be, at least by Larian. Let me know if you get stuck on anything BG3. Me with my 1,900+ hours.

[Kurth]

I saw an interesting speculation that Larian is working on Icewind Dale 3. It was based on Larian recording ice sounds at night to avoid ambient noise pollution. A bit of a stretch, but it could happen.

Finally started BG3 on PS5, and I’m loving it. Icewind Dale would be awesome!!!

Shit. I should have kept reading. Oh well.

Ya, looks not to be, at least by Larian. Let me know if you get stuck on anything BG3. Me with my 1,900+ hours.

1900 hours is impressive. Like, beyond impressive. But from what I’ve already seen of this game, I get it.

[Scraper]

I saw an interesting speculation that Larian is working on Icewind Dale 3. It was based on Larian recording ice sounds at night to avoid ambient noise pollution. A bit of a stretch, but it could happen.

Finally started BG3 on PS5, and I’m loving it. Icewind Dale would be awesome!!!

Shit. I should have kept reading. Oh well.

Ya, looks not to be, at least by Larian. Let me know if you get stuck on anything BG3. Me with my 1,900+ hours.

1900 hours is impressive. Like, beyond impressive. But from what I’ve already seen of this game, I get it.

A relatively quick first time playthrough is about 100 hours. That's skipping a lot of content too.

[Kraken]

Looks like BG3 is on sale for $48 for the next couple of weeks. It's time I bought it.