Baldur's Gate 3

[Jaymann]

I found a trick for an open hand monk so you can hit enemies with bludgeoning resistance (convoluted):

Spoiler:

1. Get the Adamantine Mace from the grimforge.
2. Equip the mace plus a shield on a character other than your monk.
3. Equip 2 light weapons on your monk (e.g. daggers).
4. From the all characters screen drag the shield over to the monk's off hand. This will magically place the mace in the monk's off hand.
5. Drag the weapon out of your shield character's main hand.
6. Click on the empty main hand slot, and from the popup screen select the weapon currently in the main hand of your monk.

This will leave the monk with an empty main hand and the mace in their off hand.

Just tried it and it actually works!

[Kurth]

I hate Orin. That is all.

[Jaymann]

Orin once halted one of my Honour Mode runs. I have since developed a sure fire method to take her down.

Spoiler:

1. Become an unholy assassin (so Bhaal doesn't help her).
2. Have a ranger assassin (with pass without a trace) and a sorcerer in your party.'
3. Equip your ranger with your best bow, caustic band and strange conduit ring.
4. Cast pass without a trace and have the sorc cast extended greater invisibility on your ranger.
5. Have your ranger fire at Orin from the steps until she goes down.
6. If she survives (don't end your turn) have a melee character take an invis potion and get up close and personal.

So far has worked every time.

[Jaymann]

Running short on cash? Here is how you can get all the gold in the game:

Spoiler:

Get (or respec) a Warlock up to level 3 and take Pact Weapon. Bind your best weapon to your Warlock. (Note: even if you spec out of Warlock the weapon remains bound!) Equip your pact weapon and open a trade window with a vendor. Put a dagger in the trade window then drag it onto your pact weapon which puts the pact weapon in the trade window (it can't actually be traded). Hit balace offer and trade over and over until you have all their gold. You can also buy anything and then get your money back.

Hurry before they patch it out.

[Kurth]

And, I’m done. Finally finished BG3 last night. Over 200 hours in this game. What a great experience that was!

[Kraken]

I'm convinced I'm going to play this game for the rest of my life. Well over 200 hours and I'm only just getting into the meaty part of Act 3. I'm going to let at least one, maybe two, side quests go because I'd have to back up to get their prerequisites. I spend too much time on fiddly things like optimizing my inventory.

Still enjoying it, though, and already thinking about playing again with a different character and party.

[Jaymann]

Congrats Kurth! I am taking a break to play Cyberpunk 2077 atm, but I'm sure I'll Be Back. Especially once user made campaigns start coming out.

[Kurth]

Congrats Kurth! I am taking a break to play Cyberpunk 2077 atm, but I'm sure I'll Be Back. Especially once user made campaigns start coming out.

I would love to play a user made campaign. Afraid that will be a PC-only thing, though.

[gbasden]

I'm amazed at how much content is still being released. It looks like Larian announced that new subclasses are going to be added in the next patch for each of the classes. It also adds crossplay and photo mode as well.

...it makes sense that Larian is adding new subclasses for each class in Patch 8. This will allow players to equip new abilities and specialize their experience further. For example, barbarians can choose Path of the Giants for Giant Rage, while warlocks can form a pact with a Shadowfell entity for Hexblade abilities. You can read up on the full list on Steam.

[Blackhawk]

I saw that on the same day that I finally decided to go back to BG3 (I didn't get far before I decided to wait for the updates to slow down.) The fact that they're adding the swashbuckler (rogue), arcane archer (fighter) and hexblade (warlock) have me excited. Those are absolutely some of my favorite subclasses.

It's actually got me tempted to put it back on the shelf and wait for that update - I'd love to be able to dual class into swashbuckler with my bard.

Side note: D&D swashbucklers don't use shields. They can swash, but they can't buckler!

[Punisher]

Side note: D&D swashbucklers don't use shields. They can swash, but they can't buckler!

That sounds a lot like false advertising.....

[Jaymann]

In all fairness, they CAN buckle.

[Skinypupy]

Just read that BG3 made $262 million profit. Not total revenue, profit.

I love to see such a quality game get so richly (ha!) rewarded.

[Kraken]

I think I'm about 240 hours in now and getting down to the endgame. Last night I finally fought Raphael on his own turf. The interwebs say this might be the toughest boss fight in the game; I was doing better than expected, but at 3 a.m. I realized it probably wasn't good enough and had to pack it in.

Tonight, Raphael. Tonight.

[Jaymann]

I think I'm about 240 hours in now and getting down to the endgame. Last night I finally fought Raphael on his own turf. The interwebs say this might be the toughest boss fight in the game; I was doing better than expected, but at 3 a.m. I realized it probably wasn't good enough and had to pack it in.

Tonight, Raphael. Tonight.

There's one weird trick he doesn't want you to know about:

Spoiler:

Globe of Invulnerability. Put Hope inside it and she can ban some minions and heal your party.

[Kraken]

I think I'm about 240 hours in now and getting down to the endgame. Last night I finally fought Raphael on his own turf. The interwebs say this might be the toughest boss fight in the game; I was doing better than expected, but at 3 a.m. I realized it probably wasn't good enough and had to pack it in.

Tonight, Raphael. Tonight.

There's one weird trick he doesn't want you to know about:

Spoiler:

Globe of Invulnerability. Put Hope inside it and she can ban some minions and heal your party.

What sorcery is this? OK Raphael, you beat me tonight. But tomorrow....

Also, I'm at 160 hours, not 140. And I'm already thinking about my *next* game.

[$iljanus]

Damn I'm in my second playthrough and don't feel like restarting. I think Withers is gonna get a lot of business when the new patch drops. I feel the need to hire some swashbucklers

[Kraken]

After 320-ish hours I am finally on my way to meet the Big Giant Head. I was moving idly in that direction when I tripped 300, but still running down distractions as they cropped up. There is so much that one could do, it might take 500 hours to follow every thread to its end. About then I noticed that I wasn't gaining experience anymore. Ooopsie, level cap! Dang it, that wasn't in the manual. Time to drive for the end, but I had to take out Gortash's factory before fighting him, and after doing that I had trouble finding him. Beat him on the first try once I finally got there.

IDK how long the final combat will drag out or how many times I'll have to fight it before I win, but I'm already thinking about my *next* game. When I started BG3 I hadn't played an adventure game in years, so I wasted most of the first act just figuring out the game system. Filled my chest with worthless junk because I didn't know it was worthless. Hey, if anyone wants to come to my dinner party I have plenty of cups and plates and cutlery, and some ink pots and quills to write about it afterward. I read damned near every note and book that I encountered and built up a big library, thinking books would be valuable. I also put a lot of effort into maximizing my gold, thinking gold would be valuable. I have like $15k in the bank with nothing to buy. Maybe the Elder Brain will take a bribe.

So anyway my next game will be more streamlined. I'll betcha I can do this in 200 hours and still take a leisurely approach, just because I know what's what now.

[Torfish]

I'm about 150 hours in. Definitely a top 10 game of all time even though I'm only about half way through it. Just an incredible engaging single player game.

I'm playing the cleric Shadowheart and love throwing down water over the enemy and then having my bard light them up with lightning. Feels great. I have Karlach and Lae'zel in my party with a bard hireling. I'm currently in Moon temple act 2 and my party is level 7 or 8.

The game is massive. So good because of the story and slick production value. There's hardly no downtime. Meaning no boring grinding gameplay.

[Jaymann]

I will probably start playing again once that patch hits. Hopefully by then there will be more user made playable levels. I couldn't get behind that space hamsters one.

[Kraken]

I finally made it to the Big Giant Head and things didn't go so well. Before all was lost I detonated Gale, just to see that ending, and hooray we all died heroes. Reloaded to try to actually win, and that went a little better, but not good enough. It's going to take me another try or three to prevail.

[Kraken]

I played that encounter four times. Devised a strategy, finally executed it, and still came up short. I surrender. Gale's self-sacrifice will have to be the end of this game.

I want to play again now that I know what I'm doing, but I think I'll wait for the Big Patch that's coming. I trust you guys to tell me when it's there.

[Jaymann]

I played that encounter four times. Devised a strategy, finally executed it, and still came up short. I surrender. Gale's self-sacrifice will have to be the end of this game.

I want to play again now that I know what I'm doing, but I think I'll wait for the Big Patch that's coming. I trust you guys to tell me when it's there.

Since you tried and failed and presumably have a save near the end let me give you a relatively sure fire method for the final boss:

Spoiler:

Buy up every bomb and explosive you can find. Full rest will cause the merchants to restock. (Smokepowder barrels will also work but they are heavy). Use invisible potions to get your team up near the brain access point then use a globe of invulnerability to cover you while you open the portal. Then send someone up close to the netherbrain and drop all your bombs and some fire potions next to the brain. Other characters can pass more explosives to them even when it is not their turn. Jump away and hit the pile with a fire arrow.

Congrats for making it that far. BG3 is one of the few games that makes you think: If I were to do it again here is what I would do better.

[Kraken]

Spoiler:

Use invisible potions to get your team up near the brain access point then use a globe of invulnerability to cover you while you open the portal.

I did that,

Spoiler:

minus the explosives; I thought Orpheus's magic stones would do the job, but it's hard to maintain the globe of invulnerability for the requisite full turn because the Emperor floats up next to me and somehow dispels the globe almost immediately. I *did* get the portal to open, once, but got clobbered before I could do anything about it. A wave of magic missiles from the illithids plus a fireball from the dragon took me out fast.

One strategy guide said casting Hold Monster on the dragon is key, but I don't have that spell.

I do have a save of my invisible party standing next to the crown, just before they cast the Globe and reveal themselves, so maybe I'll try it once or twice more tonight. I didn't specifically load up on explosives but do have a few with me. If I can open that portal again I'll try to drop everything I can before they obliterate me. Didn't realize that I still have to attack after the crown drops away. I was probably *one turn* away from winning without realizing it.

Also, I kind of hoped that all the superhero figures who said they'd side with me in the end to actually appear, but none do. The "summon allies" button only lets me choose from two small groups of cannon fodder who aren't worth wasting an action on.

[Jaymann]

Spoiler:

Use invisible potions to get your team up near the brain access point then use a globe of invulnerability to cover you while you open the portal.

I did that,

Spoiler:

minus the explosives; I thought Orpheus's magic stones would do the job, but it's hard to maintain the globe of invulnerability for the requisite full turn because the Emperor floats up next to me and somehow dispels the globe almost immediately. I *did* get the portal to open, once, but got clobbered before I could do anything about it. A wave of magic missiles from the illithids plus a fireball from the dragon took me out fast.

One strategy guide said casting Hold Monster on the dragon is key, but I don't have that spell.

I do have a save of my invisible party standing next to the crown, just before they cast the Globe and reveal themselves, so maybe I'll try it once or twice more tonight. I didn't specifically load up on explosives but do have a few with me. If I can open that portal again I'll try to drop everything I can before they obliterate me. Didn't realize that I still have to attack after the crown drops away. I was probably *one turn* away from winning without realizing it.

Also, I kind of hoped that all the superhero figures who said they'd side with me in the end to actually appear, but none do. The "summon allies" button only lets me choose from two small groups of cannon fodder who aren't worth wasting an action on.

Hold Monster is from a a scroll you can buy at the Sundries place. You need not kill the mobs, just get everyone through the portal and they can no longer attack you. Agreed the "allies" are mostly worthless except as a distraction. What difficulty are you on? You can go to Custom and make the mobs weaker and yourself stronger.

[Jaymann]

Here is an update on some fantastic custom campaigns in development, and the last one is available for download! I'm taking a deep dive.

[Jaymann]

Goldmembers (mentioned in the above video) does not appear to change the main campaign per se, but you meet an NPC named Goldmund who gives you a book to eat that promises unique spells later. Also random enemies are golden, but tougher, and drop better loot (I got $2,400 just from the Nautiloid), including gold bars you can use to buy aforementioned spells. Goldmund helps out in the Nautiloid battle making it trivial. Will he remain friendly? Who knows.

It says there are goldmember merchants about, offering unique legendary but expensive items. Hopefully my gold exploit still works.

Edit: It is available through the game's built in mod support, so no third party searching.

[Kraken]

Spoiler:

Use invisible potions to get your team up near the brain access point then use a globe of invulnerability to cover you while you open the portal.

I did that,

Spoiler:

minus the explosives; I thought Orpheus's magic stones would do the job, but it's hard to maintain the globe of invulnerability for the requisite full turn because the Emperor floats up next to me and somehow dispels the globe almost immediately. I *did* get the portal to open, once, but got clobbered before I could do anything about it. A wave of magic missiles from the illithids plus a fireball from the dragon took me out fast.

One strategy guide said casting Hold Monster on the dragon is key, but I don't have that spell.

I do have a save of my invisible party standing next to the crown, just before they cast the Globe and reveal themselves, so maybe I'll try it once or twice more tonight. I didn't specifically load up on explosives but do have a few with me. If I can open that portal again I'll try to drop everything I can before they obliterate me. Didn't realize that I still have to attack after the crown drops away. I was probably *one turn* away from winning without realizing it.

Also, I kind of hoped that all the superhero figures who said they'd side with me in the end to actually appear, but none do. The "summon allies" button only lets me choose from two small groups of cannon fodder who aren't worth wasting an action on.

Hold Monster is from a a scroll you can buy at the Sundries place. You need not kill the mobs, just get everyone through the portal and they can no longer attack you. Agreed the "allies" are mostly worthless except as a distraction. What difficulty are you on? You can go to Custom and make the mobs weaker and yourself stronger.

Tried a couple more times with different tactics, but my strategy was faulty.

Spoiler:

Illithid mind blasts can break through my globe of invulnerability even though everyone has psychic immunity potions active. IDK if all of them can do it or only the Emperor, but I just can't keep the globe up for a full turn and everybody dies quickly when it falls, concentrated as they are at ground zero. Sending out a couple of sacrificial lambs didn't work.

I'd need to back up a few hours, reequip, and change my initial approach. Not gonna do that. I'll take Gale's self sacrifice as a Pyrrhic victory and resolve to do better next time.

There will be a next time, but I think I'll lose myself in a game of Stellaris now.

[Holman]

I've mostly avoided this thread because (lame as I am) I've gotten about 80% through the game three times but have then started over. I'm still trying to avoid spoilers for the final 20%.

That said, I've heard that Larian has declared that they won't be producing a sequel. I'm happy for them to do their own thing, but I hope that they might consider licensing their exquisite D&D 5e game engine for others to use.

Wouldn't it be great to play some of the classic D&D adventures in this mode?

[Jaymann]

I've mostly avoided this thread because (lame as I am) I've gotten about 80% through the game three times but have then started over. I'm still trying to avoid spoilers for the final 20%.

That said, I've heard that Larian has declared that they won't be producing a sequel. I'm happy for them to do their own thing, but I hope that they might consider licensing their exquisite D&D 5e game engine for others to use.

Wouldn't it be great to play some of the classic D&D adventures in this mode?

Agreed. Although if I understand correctly, one of the major reasons they are not going forward with 5e is hassles with Hasbro/WoTC. I will be satisfied with some of the fantastic user-made campaigns now in the works. One would think it would be a natural progression to licensing the engine commercially if Hasbro will allow it.

[Jaymann]

Goldmembers (mentioned in the above video) does not appear to change the main campaign per se, but you meet an NPC named Goldmund who gives you a book to eat that promises unique spells later. Also random enemies are golden, but tougher, and drop better loot (I got $2,400 just from the Nautiloid), including gold bars you can use to buy aforementioned spells. Goldmund helps out in the Nautiloid battle making it trivial. Will he remain friendly? Who knows.

It says there are goldmember merchants about, offering unique legendary but expensive items. Hopefully my gold exploit still works.

Edit: It is available through the game's built in mod support, so no third party searching.

Goldmembers author added a new boss in Act 2 with latest update. Fortunately I was not too far in to miss it and got some legendary boots. And my gold exploit still works so I have beaucoup bucks.

[Suitably Ironic Moniker]

I've mostly avoided this thread because (lame as I am) I've gotten about 80% through the game three times but have then started over. I'm still trying to avoid spoilers for the final 20%.

That said, I've heard that Larian has declared that they won't be producing a sequel. I'm happy for them to do their own thing, but I hope that they might consider licensing their exquisite D&D 5e game engine for others to use.

Wouldn't it be great to play some of the classic D&D adventures in this mode?

This was me on my first two plays, but I finally finished a game! My char was a Dark Elf Bard with the Dark Urge origin. Even though I was a Drow, I chose to be of the Selune worshippers so that he wouldn't have to be evil (even without a built-in alignment system it would be hard for me to rectify playing a goody-goody drow and I'm always a white knight in these games). I romanced Karlach and completed all of the quests I could find, although I didn't do both paths through Act II, even though it is possible (next time). The story, characters and fighting were all exquisite from beginning to end, and I was really sad to say goodbye. The only reason I pushed hard at the end was so that I could beat Patch 8, which I will see in a replay a year or so from now.

Spoiler:

Out of all of my companions "endings," Gale was the only one which I was disappointed in, though that was my fault thinking that he was good to go until after his reunion with Mystra kickstarted his godhood dreams again. I should have pushed against that option immediately, but it was still interesting to see how he turned out. I ended up going with Karlach and Wyll to fight in Avernus, and possibly cure Karlach!

[Apollo]

I want to give this game another shot but I don't want to start without the patch (which contains subclasses I want to use). Any guesses of how long the stress test on patch 8 will last?

[Jaymann]

I want to give this game another shot but I don't want to start without the patch (which contains subclasses I want to use). Any guesses of how long the stress test on patch 8 will last?

I found a ton of info online about patch 8...everything except release date.

[Apollo]

So, I’ve made it to the Emerald grove where I quit last time and once again I’m not sure what to do next. Am I supposed to “solve” all these quests b4 moving to the next area or can I come back later and work on them. I have no idea how to advance the storyline at this point and I don’t want to miss unlocking content because I left too soon.

I don’t necessarily need exact directions for what to do next, I just need to have a basic idea of how this rpg (which doesn’t hold your hand and guide you like most I’ve done in the last decade or so) “works” and how to deal with new areas if that makes any sense. Right now I have talked to lots of people and persuaded several, but I have no clue what I should be doing!

[Jaymann]

The Emerald Grove is one of the few areas you need to resolve before moving int Act 2. Either defeat the goblins to help them, or side with the goblins to betray them. I almost always help them unless going full evil. Side quests are up to you, but if you go into Act 2 without resolving it will be walled off forever.

[Hyena]

So, I’ve made it to the Emerald grove where I quit last time and once again I’m not sure what to do next. Am I supposed to “solve” all these quests b4 moving to the next area or can I come back later and work on them. I have no idea how to advance the storyline at this point and I don’t want to miss unlocking content because I left too soon.

I don’t necessarily need exact directions for what to do next, I just need to have a basic idea of how this rpg (which doesn’t hold your hand and guide you like most I’ve done in the last decade or so) “works” and how to deal with new areas if that makes any sense. Right now I have talked to lots of people and persuaded several, but I have no clue what I should be doing!

Trust me, you'll know when Act 2 is about to start, you'll be leaving the area completely. Just roam around, explore, and you'll run into DOZENS of sidequests, areas to explore, and things to unalive for xp. Decide what kind of person your character is, then act that way. Just keep in mind some companions will have opposite reactions to the same action. Shadowheart will like some things that Astarion hates, for example.

Persuasion and convincing are good ways to get xp, but most combat chances also have good loot to balance it out. For example, there's a group of goblins taking out their frustrations on a gnome tied to a windmill. If you talk to them, you can get them to go away for decent xp. If you attack them, one of them is carrying a very nice axe.

Take it slow, think through the encounters during turn-based actions, and use spells, abilities, and terrain to your advantage. Also, if you're going to fight, use Kobra Kai logic: strike first, strike hard. Use your rogue to initiate combat for the sneak attack and surprise bonuses, and focus fire on one guy at a time, preferably the strongest one.

[Kurth]

This sounds melodramatic (because it is), but you can't play BG3 in fear of missing out. There's so much to do in this game, there's no way to actually play it (except many, many times) that won't result in missing out on a lot of content. This is not a game for completionists who want to finish in one play through.

If you can, just go with the flow and do what you want and enjoy what you experience. FOMO is not your friend in BG3.

[Blackhawk]

That applies to a lot of well-written narrative RPGs. I've struggled with it myself - wanting to explore every option. I try to remind myself that they're like choose-your-own-adventure books. You make your choices, read the result, and get to the end. Then you go back and read it again later, making different choices to see more of it.

[Scraper]

This sounds melodramatic (because it is), but you can't play BG3 in fear of missing out. There's so much to do in this game, there's no way to actually play it (except many, many times) that won't result in missing out on a lot of content. This is not a game for completionists who want to finish in one play through.

If you can, just go with the flow and do what you want and enjoy what you experience. FOMO is not your friend in BG3.

I 100% agree with this. You will drive yourself crazy and never finish the game if you FOMO this one. There were only two instances where I knew I messed up and resorted to an old save. Without spoiling them one was in act 2 when I got a premature story ending and the other was in act 2 when literally 90% of the NPCs and my party died. Other than those two instances I just made my decisions and dealt with the outcomes.