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Just grabbed it

Cool, may have to resurrect our BG3 "let's play" thread. I'm still working through several characters and amazed at the variation in dialogue that's not only character driven, but also little changes Larian has been pushing through with their updates. Fun stuff

I thought I'd see how it is on my Steam Deck.

It runs surprisingly well, with no stuttering so far. The only thing I'm really having trouble with is the camera angles and with the Steam Deck controls that can get pretty complicated. Fortunately that long exploratory bit at the start gives me time to work out the controls. I still haven't figured out how to switch party members or how to open my inventory, but i's early days yet.

Since I'm completely bored with Fallout 76 and Stalker 2 doesn't run on the deck, I may play this instead. I didn't finish it last time, having got stuck and rage-quit and then started something else, and rather than pick up where I left off a new game seems appropriate.

Anyway, I've picked up Astarion, Gale, Laezael and Shadowheart so I'll tackle that Chapel now.

Yeah, I'm pretty surprised how well it runs on my game machine, which is actually a fair bit outdated now (GTX 1070). There is some stuttering when it first loads in at the start and when "fast traveling", but other than that it looks good on moderate settings.

My Drow Ranger is in Act 2, a Gith Sorcerer nearing that point and a Tiefling Warlock, and Elven Rogue near the middle of Act 1. I've also been intermittently running starting characters to check out the changes that comes through in the updates. Interesting how Larian has changed the dialogue over the last few. They aren't huge changes, but it's enough to modify the context of the conversation or allow it to go in a slightly different direction in some cases.

I'm also running without that Karmic Dice setting checked. Didn't even realize that was a feature until I began reading the big game guide. It feels more random to me now, like actual dice rolls. With the Karmic Dice setting I felt like I could just about predict my rolls based on the previous ones. Granted, you can have more bad rolls without it, but you run an equal chance of have a run of stellar dice rolls too.

My Rogue is running in place of Astarion, since I decided to introduce him to a pointed stick early on in that run

I'm playing a Bard again, only this time I chose the fighter version of subclass.

So you introduced Astarion to Mr. Pointy, huh? I honestly never considered that but of course it is a thing, offered early in the game.

I just rescued Miranda and honestly wish I'd let Ethel take her. One thing that was problematic; I had to take a reward from Ethel at random since there was no description of any of them. No matter. Last time I killed her; this time I let her go.

I've worked out most of the controls and they are fairly simple now that I have the hang of it. It's nice to play a game on my couch with the fire going.

It might be a Steam Deck thing if Ethel's rewards don't show a description, though the basic description, even though it gives you a nice ability boost it pretty gross . I usually don't go back to her place for an actual confrontation until a little later in the game because she's a good potion supplier

Now that I've been hopping between characters I'm not sure if the dialogue changes I've come across are due to the updates or just influenced by my race and class selections. I'm thinking it's a bit of both. One thing with not running the karmic dice is that I really need to keep myself from reloading saves when I have consistently lousy results due to dice rolls. Have had a couple battles where my characters were rolling misses probably 80% of the time, that got a bit frustrating. Other than that still fun.

I noticed that if you climb the ledge behind Astarion's tent the usual camp music suddenly gets vocals that seem to be about him or what he is. I keep checking around the other party members tents to see if it changes, but so far it only happens in that spot. Curious.

Apparently I picked up the Wisdom reward, so I'll toss it to Shadowheart.

In this game I'm using Karlach as a Berserker, adding Tavern Brawler as her first feat. It's great. Last time I hadn't really studied the builds and as a regular fighter she was surprisingly lame. This time she's hilarious and really tough. I'm collecting junk for her to throw. It's like having a mobile Junk Jet that talks.

Yeah, it seems like Larian built in a number of situational dialogue options based on who's in the party and your race/class. Also, even though alignment isn't really a visual character attribute it seems like the game tracks your decision making and adjusts the party members attitudes and responses over more than just approval. While there is that visual approval rating in the character sheet, I get the feeling it's a little deeper than that in the background.

I like Karlach, she's got that no-nonsense attitude and quick wit, sort of similar to Lae'zel though not as harsh. Definitely someone I'd have a few beers with 🤣

Karlach is much more on the "good" side than, say, Lae'zel. If your character keeps making "good" decisions, you'll find that Astarion and Lae'zel will consistently have the lowest approval ratings among your party, because those two like "bad" things more often. You'll get high approval from them only in an "evil playthrough." You can't have it both ways, because things that get approval from someone will often get disapproval from another.

I always liked that about the BG games. Anomen and Viconia, for example, in BG 2. Oil and water. One or the other. At one point I had the Happy Party mod, and everyone got along, but it just didn't feel right. Those two were meant to end up trying to kill each other.

So far I prefer Karlach in combat, but they're both useful.

In case anyone is interested, the upcoming Patch #8 among other fixes and features will include 12 new character subclasses!

From Larian's official YT channel they give a high level view of 4 of the upcoming classes here:

Guide To New Subclasses In Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 8 (Part 1)

Also, from Dungeons & Dragons YT channel, D&D Game Director Jeremey Crawfrod and Todd Kenreck talk about the origins of the Baldur's Gate 3's Patch 8 Subclasses:

Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 8 Subclass Origins on D&D

If you'd like a graphical deep dive preview of the patch and associated classes check out this guide on the Baldur's Gate II Wiki:

Guide: Patch 8


This patch is basically a DLC that Larian is giving to us for free, which is pretty cool. 👍

I've been putting off the Waukeen's Rest segment, and I'm having trouble getting through it now that I'm tackling it. The two timed events in this game really spoil it for me. I'm just playing along, having fun exploring and taking out bad guys and following the story, and then game throws a timed puzzle at me. It spoils my immersion in the game, and to me it seems out of character for a BG game, as if all of a sudden I'm playing Tomb Raider. The last time I stopped playing the game for good was the place where I had to rescue a bunch of people in Act 3 and couldn't stomach it after fifteen or so tries. I did get through the Waukeen's Rest segment last time but for some reason this time I'm having a lot of trouble. I might try it on my computer; the small screen on the Steam Deck probably makes it more difficult.

I decided to put a level or two of Fighter into a few of my party members this time around. Last time I played single-class, and I found some of the characters, like Shadowheart, pretty underwhelming.

Yeah, never been a fan of timed events. Also, not a fan of the turn-based function kicking on automatically. If possible, I shut it down and go the usual route. The only event that freaked me out was the first time I hit the Last Light Inn and "that" happened. After the deed was done I had to get up and walk away for a bit. I ended up figuring out how to have the more positive outcome in the next run, but holy **** the undesirable outcome there is pretty freakin' extreme.

I usually respec Shadowheart as a War Cleric and switch her abilities up a bit at the start. Seems to help her performance somewhat.


Just hit The High Road a little early and had a TPK trying to help Karlach. Time to reload.

I'll just have a look at some walkthrough videos for the timed events.

I might try respeccing Shadowheart. It would be good to have a fighter/cleric type in the party. My Bard already has healing spells if needed, so I don't need a pure healer. And while my Bard is a fairly respectable lockpicker, I almost always travel with Astarion, so I need at least two party members capable of doing damage.

I have thought about maybe running a Cleric of Selune as a Shadowheart replacement, well, at least until we run into any origin stuff. I've read they seem to be somewhat of a lore "lightning rod" when it comes to game dialogue. Makes sense given the story references and potential dichotomies that could arise.

Also, I should add that at the moment, Astarion deals the most damage in combat with his vampire bite and sneak attacks. Some of his attacks are huge, taking out 50% of a high-level enemy's hit points in one attack. I noticed that last time, too. What that means is that I need to pay more attention to how I build my fighters.

His bite attack is great to weaken larger combatants. Rogues in general can decimate at range as well, especially when using elemental arrows. I haven't directly compared the two, but I'd wager they're at least close to what Rangers can do from a distance.

I started a fighter build, but never continued it through a game run yet. I've just been relying on Lae'zel and Karlach. Sort of keeping them lore friendly with their builds. I should probably do the same and branch out a bit more.

I used to play around with my party member builds in BG and BG 2 a bit but the games didn't really allow for much tinkering until I learned to use Gatekeeper and Shadowkeeper.

I like the fact that in BG 3 that's just built right into the game and you can switch back and forth between classes and play around with party member builds. It makes for some interesting combinations and I'm not so worried about messing up a character build because it can be corrected on the next level up or simply repecced. I think I'll give my Bard a second level of fighter and then send her back to her bardic pursuits.

She's actually a Drow, which as resulted in some interesting dialogue.

Drows are fun to use, they've got a fairly major part in the storyline so I sort of feel more vested in the game with a Drow character if that makes any sense. I also like that if you're Lolth sworn you can just glare at someone and make them back down.

I chose the "nice' Drow option, but even so, that Druid Grove got pretty tense when a Gith and a Drow walked in.

A Gith and a Drow walk into a Druid's Grove, sounds like the start of a joke

I need to look further into Larian's Seldarine Drow. In previous canon the Seldarine were sort of a generic name for the Drow gods, Lolth being one of them. I still need to follow-up on this, but I think Seldarine Drow in Larian's system are Drow that are not sworn to Lolth, so are not marked with the red eyes (unless you want that). The rest of the Drow pantheon aren't necessarily "good", they're just other than Lolth. What that does is make it more open for the player to create a Drow character with any alignment they want rather than having to hold to the somewhat insidious reputation of the Lolth sworn.

I might have to try running an wholly evil character, Larian certainly provides the plot direction and tools to do so. Most times I'm sort of middle of the road when it comes to my character's ethics.

Edit: Now you got me started down a whole new path of multiclassing, something I haven't done before. Trying that Warlock/Fighter build, starting with Fighter, then trying to go Warlock after I add the Eldritch knight sub-class at 3rd level. Seems like it could be crazy powerful once I get the Warlock feats that pump up Eldritch Blast. This could be fun.

I had to take a break from playing to give my eyes a rest. The OLED screen of my Steam Deck is lovely, but that teeny-tiny writing in the inventory screens is a bit much.

I've given Gale a level of Warlock specifically for the Eldritch Blast. I'll take that for another level and then send him back to Wizard. Knowing I can respec him if it's a mistake is quite freeing.

Giving my Bard a level of fighter hasn't helped much. She's still middle-of the road with a few useful spells and buffs and decent archery skills. I did not give Astarion a level of Fighter. It might be time to try that. He's STILL the most useful party member in combat.

Yeah, that's the drawback of those portables, the screens. With my lousy vision I need a full size monitor to game. Plus I enjoy the detail that Larian put into the animation. It's pretty wild that you can tell Astarion's intro clothing has velvet areas around the shoulders and can actually see the threads in the embroidery on it. Beards and hair still could use some work at the lower resolutions though.

It is cool that you can re-spec pretty much anytime you want if a build doesn't seem like it's working that well. So far the Warlock/Fighter build is running really well.

I also started another game with a custom mode, lowering the Trader Price Modifier by .5 from 2.5 to 2. One thing that's always bugged me in games like this is the need to collect a ton of junk to make enough gold to get something good. Since there's really no significant crafting element in the game to potentially make gold, that aspect robs some of the enjoyment from the game for me. So, lowering that trader stat made it a bit easier to buy and sell without having to pick up every knife and spoon in every ruin I come across. 😁

I always send stuff straight to the camp chest. Don't even have to pick it up, just scan the immediate area, click on the listed containers, and send it all back to camp. That way for the first little while I can pick up all the junk and sell it to Volo.

I really ought to learn how to set up my Steam Deck so it uses my TV. It's a 65" OLED, so it would look pretty awesome.

Warlock/Fighter. Maybe I should try that with Wyll. So far he's not been all that useful.

Wait, Volo is a merchant? I've never come across the dialogue option to trade with him. I'm going to have to look into that, might be a bug or I'm just wildly unobservant. I was wondering why he kept hanging around the camp other than wanting to stick that clothing needle in my eye

Yeah, it's nice to get that Action Surge feat and be able to launch an extra round of Eldritch Blast. Since they start out with such low Strength I spec Dexterity up a bit (along with Charisma) and concentrate on finesse weapons, bows and throwables. If you want more melee, Pact of the Blade for Warlock overcomes the strength deficit and combines nicely with a Warlock/Fighter, especially with the extra attack you get later on (level 5 I think). You can end up having an Infernal fighter that can spam something like 5 attacks if you do it right by incorporating the Battle Master subclass for Fighter. I'm still trying to find the right balance to include the Arcane knight sub-class to add more magic. I keep forgetting that I can respect at any time. Really need to play around with that more. I've noticed in the forums a lot of folks suggest 3 levels of Warlock, 2 Levels of Fighter and then go the Sorcerer route. Haven't tried that yet though.

I haven't checked online, but it seems like Rogue and Warlock might mesh well too.

Volo is a trader IF you start the conversation about the parasite with him, and then the option to trade should appear. It's NOT a dialogue option, but shows up as an action like trading would for random characters in the game, so on the bottom of the screen.

Ah, that's another option I always forget about. Thanks!

So, I'm now making my way through the Shawdowlands and am really starting to "see" the limitations of playing on the Steam Deck; some items are impossible to pick up because of the size of the screen. Everything is so small and crowded individual items are impossible to focus on. It took me half an hour to push a button last night!

I know there's a way to pick up everything in sight, though; I did it once but for the life of me can't work out how I did it.

I bought a Steam Deck too, and have also found it difficult to play some games. Games need to be designed specifically for small screens, like mobile games for phones, for them to guarantee to be playable on small screens. But games for PC and consoles are generally made for larger screens like PC monitors and TVs. TVs used to have small screens (20 inches or less), so the old console games from that era were designed accordingly. But nowadays, 30+ to 50+ inches are common for TVs.

I did finally work out how to pick up small items, and it's great! Holding down the A key on my Deck brings up every single interactable item in the immediate vicinity and allows you to pick up what you want, open crates, and get to that pesky button or lever that you can't quite reach. It's made the game so much easier.

I'm on my way to Moonrise towers, having wiped out the Gith and scammed their egg away from them. Lady Edith lies dead on the ground and looted, since her plans were despicable.

Regarding the Steam Deck, I find that simpler games like Fallout 76 and Metro 2033 were great on the deck because there's not so much small detail. BG2 and Veilguard play well but it's difficult to see what's what.

I sold her the Owlbear egg instead. It takes a Persuasion check, but I guess that's the middle of the road choice.

My party is in the same vicinity. Just left Last Light and hit the first shadow denizens. Doing a couple side quests to buff XP up a bit before moving on to Moonrise. Shadowheart still seems to be the enemy's "alpha strike" target about 50% of the time. I'm guessing because she's a cleric? My Warlock/Fighter-Eldritch knight is doing well at 3 levels each, Eldritch Blast is too fun especially with Action Surge from the Fighter levels. I went the extra fighter level to get Eldritch Knight thinking the spells would be useful, but now I think I get why folks who want spells multiclass in Sorcerer rather than going the extra fighter level. I might respec at 7 with that progression to see how it turns out.

Okay, then my next character will be evil Drow.

Giving Astarion levels of Fighter has turned him into a killing machine. I still don't play Karlach properly, I guess.

I still have to get moving on that evil character I built. Been playing more of an Elven "gigachad" in this active playthrough That "Pact of the Blade" for Warlocks is great. Really helps make melee a lot more impactful for a Warlock/Fighter especially if you can find or buy a decent weapon. Gloves of Dexterity are a boon as well, don't have to worry about Dex saves...much. Probably jinxing myself, but I'm actually really surprised how well this multiclass is doing. Ended up unintentionally soloing and doing well against a herd of psycho fish folks hiding out in the Shadowlands, although they seemed like kind of an XP bonus, not very tough and sort of stupid.

Yeah, Astarion is a ridiculously good character. Even after re-specing I've had to equip the heck out of Shadowheart to make her a close equivalent (very thankful for the "Gloves of Thievery"). In this playthrough Astarion didn't seem to fit in with the group I'm taking through the Shadowlands. I'll bring him back in the party once we get close to Baldur's Gate.

If you haven't done it yet with Karlach, you need to do the improvised weapon thing and have her use another enemy as the weapon. The dialog that randomly comes up is hilarious (after you do it a few times), as is the Steam achievement you get, "Kill Two Birds with One Gnome"

I definitely need to get Karlach chucking people around, because that will presumably get me through that timed sequence in Act 3 (?) where I agave up last time. I gave her the Tavern Brawler perk (I think that's what it's called) and I'm wondering if there's another one I should have picked.

I've seen the Tavern Brawler Feat mentioned for Karlach's build and it's supposed to be pretty good depending on how she's developed.

I usually go for the Ability bump rather than the specialty Feats. So, not sure how the Brawler Feat works in practice although I guess it increases that improvised throwing ability?

Just respec'd my Elven dude to 2 levels Fighter, 2 levels Sorcerer, and 4 levels Warlock. You definitely do get more spell slots and an OK variety of spells going with the 2 levels of Sorcerer rather than going to a Level 3 Fighter with the Eldritch Knight sub-class. I think the preferred build is to continue with the Sorcerer levels, but I'm curious how a Warlock buffed-up like that will work and will continue on that route.

In this playthrough my party is that Elven Multiclass, Shadowheart subbed to War Cleric, Karlach as a Berserker Barbarian with 1 level of Sorcerer which was not a good idea so, that will be respec'd away shortly. Then Gale as a pure Wizard, pretty much to game suggested spec, but I'm thinking of giving him a Fighter level. I feel like he needs at least some medium armor because he's still pretty squishy when conserving spell slots. I'm just starting our search for the Thorn artifact, so getting closer to that nasty sequence.

If you're referring to Iron Throne where you only have 5 to 8 turns to rescue all prisoners (8 turns at the easiest difficulty, only 5 turns at Tactician difficulty), then all four people in your party, not just Karlach, need to have the ability to "move" people. In my playthrough, I brought several Dimension Door and Misty Step scrolls with me. Scrolls can be shared and used by everyone, including non-spellcasters. Even the duke can use one to teleport himself out of danger. Misty Step can teleport one person (the caster), and Dimension Door can teleport the caster and another person, such as a prisoner. The teleportation travels about 60 feet, which is far enough to get from one end of a corridor to the exit. Naturally, you need to help the prisoners who are the farthest away from the exit the most.

Another way to teleport is to shoot Arrows of Transposition, which can teleport you 60 feet away, even if you are ensnared or immobile. Arrows can be shared, and everyone in your party has a bow. So this method provides yet another way for everyone, even non-spellcasters, to teleport.

Teleportation doesn't use your movement, which is a great way to maximize your mobility so you can rescue everyone and escape in time.

If you have a spellcaster in your party (such as Wyll), the Hold Person spell is useful against the enemies. Despite what they look like, those creatures are actually humanoids. So they can be incapacitated with Hold Person, which makes the enemy lose TEN TURNS at most (with a saving throw try at every turn). If your spellcaster has high saving throw DC, the enemy may lose several turns -- even losing just 2 to 3 turns will help you greatly. If your spellcaster has limited spell slots, bring some Hold Person scrolls as well. Hold Person is a charisma spell, so Wyll will be of great help here. His father is a prisoner too, so he has a good reason to be here.

One more tip about this rescue is that there is one door that can be used to lock in several enemies. Once locked inside, they will never be able to come out, and you have several fewer enemies to worry about.

Here is my video playthrough of the rescue, in only 5 turns at Tactician difficulty, using all the strategies above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF0u_2XW0nM

Wow! Awesome video GamingPhreak and some great tips on the segment.

That information will definitely come in handy.

Yes, that is the timed quest I was talking about. It stopped my game last time. After about 15 tries I just gave up. This time through, I've been lowering the difficult level to get past tough spots so I can actually get through the game. Once I've done that and am familiar with all of the mechanics I'll be able to do a decent playthrough, like I did with previous BG games.

I'll be watching your video very carefully before I venture in this time. I'm not there yet; still having fun rambling around Moonrise Towers and playing with party member builds. I've just finished rescuing the Nightsong and am about to do Halsin's little quest.

You're welcome, guys. My method is just one of many, I'm sure. I only did one playthrough of this game, so there must be many other builds that can improve mobility. Another way to move faster is getting the illithid power to fly, which lets you move at half the movement cost and avoid enemies' opportunity attacks if you fly near enemies.

One more tip: drink "Potion of Speed." It gives you an extra action for THREE TURNS, but you lose a turn afterwards. I did this in my video. My Laezel drinks Potion of Speed in the 2nd turn and gets two actions in that turn. She gets another 2 actions in the 3rd turn, and another 2 actions in the 4th turn. At the end of the 4th turn, she exits back to the submersible. In the 5th turn, she loses a turn, but it doesn't matter, because she already made it back to the submersible. In this timed objective, having all the extra actions far outweighs the loss of a turn at the end.