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Similar to Divinity: Original Sin 2’s development, Larian has released Baldur’s Gate 3 in early access to get player feedback. While the early access build is short with only the game’s first act being playable, there is so much depth in the current build that fans should be wary of a few mechanics and features before diving in. Here are ten things that fans should know before diving into Baldur’s Gate 3’s early access build.
10 Expect Bugs
Early access and betas have lost their meaning in recent years. Early copies of a title typically have few issues and are close to going gold. This is not the case with Baldur’s Gate 3. The core mechanics of the game are mostly fleshed out and are a joy to experience, but the game’s technical aspect is clearly still in development.
Cutscenes have placeholder animations, texture streaming and loading times take much longer than one would expect, and characters will frequently t-pose or ragdoll when they die. These issues do not impact the game in a major way, but players that were expecting this early access version of Baldur’s Gate 3 to be well-polished should realign their expectations. This is very much a work in progress.
9 The Tadpole Affects Gameplay
Mild story spoilers ahead.
Every player that starts Baldur’s Gate 3 will have a Mind Flayer tadpole slither into their brain. Since these tadpoles can morph someone into a Mind Flayer in a matter of days, it is paramount that the player and their companions get it removed.
At least, that is what the campaign encourages players to do. This tadpole actually grants players effects that can bypass troublesome encounters on their journey with no dice roll required. Whenever the tadpole is used to resolve an issue, it will slowly corrupt the player and make the tadpole stronger. The repercussions of this are not known due to how limited the early access build is, but it is safe to say that the Mind Flayer’s tadpole serves a much greater purpose than setting up the game’s narrative.
8 Don’t Rely On Autosaves
Baldur’s Gate 3 does have an autosave system that will periodically save the current session in case the player’s party gets wiped. However, do not rely on the autosave system to create consistent checkpoints. Autosaves in Baldur’s Gate 3 seldom trigger, sometimes taking hours before it will make a save point. Remember to quicksave before tough encounters and manually save as much as possible to prevent losing hours of progress due to the party dying.
7 Pay Attention To Companion Stats
Dungeons & Dragons players know how important party members are to succeeding in anything. This behavior has certainly been carried over in Baldur’s Gate 3. Every companion the player brings along fulfills a critical role in their party that should be accounted for.
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Shadowheart, for example, is a Trickster Domain Cleric that has a plethora of support abilities. While she does carry a sword and shield, her base Dexterity is nine. She doesn’t have heavy armor, either, so players need to use her more as a supporting character than a frontline fighter since her Armor Class is so low. Keep an eye on every companion’s stats and abilities to make sure the group has the best chance of success.
6 The Level Cap Is Four
Playable characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 cannot exceed level four in the current early access build. While this level cap seems extremely low, keep in mind that Larian Studios were originally planning Baldur’s Gate 3 to have a level cap of ten. This number is still in flux, however.
Regardless, this low level cap is still more than enough to let players experiment with various skills, feats, spells, and try out the starting features of a particular subclass.
5 Class Balance Changes
Larian Studios has done a fantastic job at translating Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons rules to Baldur’s Gate 3. The game pertains much of what makes tabletop D&D iconic such as frequent dice rolls and plenty of dialogue options.
One thing that didn’t translate as clearly, though, is class balance. Rangers, for example, have seen their Favored Enemy and Natural Explorer features overhauled completely to make them more competitive with other classes. Rogues are also missing core features like expertise. Even if someone is familiar with 5E’s classes, take some time to read each class feature to not be caught off-guard.
4 Wizards Can Learn Any Spell
While it is not clear if this is a bug or intentional, Wizards in the early access build can learn cantrips and spells from scrolls for a small Gold fee. Simply hover over the scroll, right-click on it, and select “Learn” to add the spell or cantrip to a Wizard’s grimoire.
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This works with not just Wizard-specific spells but any spell or cantrip in the game. Wizards can learn Healing Word, Guiding Bolt, or any spell that is not normally available to them. Instead of using spells as a last resort or in niche cases, give them to the party’s Wizard instead to increase their versatility.
3 Environmental Effects Are Commonplace
Similar to the Divinity: Original Sin games, environmental effects have been migrated to Baldur’s Gate 3 in full swing. Fire Bolts can spawn burning ground on impact, enemies spill blood that can be electrified, and a plethora of poison clouds can be found in certain areas.
The enemy uses these effects to their full effect when possible, using special arrows or consumables to engulf areas in flame or other ailments. Consider finding ways to obtain elemental damage resistance to make these effects less problematic to deal with.
2 Some Dialogue Systems Aren’t Done
Dice rolls that involve skill checks mid-dialogue are in Baldur’s Gate 3 as one would expect from a CRPG. That said, some aspects of dialogue that players would expect to be in the early access build are sadly missing.
Whoever initiates dialogue makes every dice roll during dialogue instead of characters best qualified for the check. Using spells mid-conversation is also missing here, making spells that influence Charisma checks such as Charm near worthless in this iteration of Baldur’s Gate 3. Larian has confirmed that these features will be added later in development.
1 Closer To Divinity Than Baldur’s Gate
Many old-school Baldur’s Gate fans were worried from initial footage that Baldur’s Gate 3 would be closer to Divinity: Original Sin 2 than BioWare’s classic titles. Those fans’ concerns were well-founded.
Companions in the early access build are mostly cynical and focused on themselves instead of filling somewhat cliche archetypes that BioWare’s companions were known for in the older entries. The overall feeling of movement and combat is much closer to Divinity: Original Sin 2 as well, which is mainly due to Baldur’s Gate 3 running on the same engine as Original Sin 2. Most of these issues will likely be ironed out by the time BG3 releases, but fans looking to experience a continuation of Baldur’s Gate 2 will likely feel disappointed with Larian’s vision.
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