Baldur's Gate 3: On the Highway to the Nine Hells

[Heartofice]

Think I killed everyone in the Goblin camp just by shoving them. Seems pretty over powered. 
 

Grease is also very useful 

[Luzifer's right hand]

40 minutes ago, Poobah said:

  Reveal hidden contents

I grabbed the Bulette and used it to destroy everything in my path

 

Spoiler

That quest is a lot of fun. I really considered helping Glut take over but the other shroom seemed nice enough

22 minutes ago, Heartofice said:

Think I killed everyone in the Goblin camp just by shoving them. Seems pretty over powered. 
 

Grease is also very useful 

Shove can be really annoying when an enemy uses it on your party members too.

I tend to stay away from destroy loot though which means that I don't use it that often to kill.

[Fez]

Either the game is getting buggier in Act 2 or Larian didn't expect that some players would ever take certain options.

Spoiler

I got to the Last Light Inn and I didn't like how aggressive Jaheria was upon meeting me, including casting a spell on me. So I went down the dialog tree that ended up with either "Wait, let me explain." or "Attack!" and I thought it was entirely in character to attack. This triggered a huge fight against like 15 Harpers, which I eventually won. Afterwards, there was a lull in the combat because even though the rest of the Inn was auto-hostile it turned out, they were also too far away to start a fight until I wandered closer. In that lull, Karlach had a "!" appear over her. Which I figured would be a scene of her really pissed off at what I just did. Nope. It was a dialog about how cool Jaheria is and how she wondered what bars Jaheria goes to in Baldur's Gate. 

Which was extremely odd since Jaheria's lifeless body was at our feet. It felt like the dialog that was supposed to trigger after a more peaceful encounter. And then I went back to camp since I had zero resources left, and absolutely no one had anything to say about what happened (though maybe they will if I finish killing off everyone at the Inn?).

So either there's some bugs or Larian just assumed no one would ever actually attack in this situation.

The whole thing felt really disheartening. And I'm thinking I'll probably reload from before that moment and act more the way the game expects.

Edited August 22, 2023 by Fez

[IlyaP]

Hey folks, I've hit a stumbling block in this game, and I was wondering if anyone could provide some help on what I should do? Guides online haven't been very helpful (pretty much all of them are works in progress). 

I'm in the ruined battlefield region of the game, and I've managed to find a way into the castle via a side waterfall area, but upon getting there, my party has to pass through yet another shadow wall, and this one burns everyone who enters it, and my player character commented that regular torches would not be enough. 

What am I missing here? Do I actually have to fight bloody Karniss and his band of roving assholes to get this lantern to progress and survive the, uh, darker darkness? Everyone in my party is now level 7 and even at that level, on storyteller mode, I'm *really* struggling and creeping uncomfortably close to rage quitting. 

[Fez]

2 hours ago, Fez said:

Either the game is getting buggier in Act 2 or Larian didn't expect that some players would ever take certain options.

  Reveal hidden contents

I got to the Last Light Inn and I didn't like how aggressive Jaheria was upon meeting me, including casting a spell on me. So I went down the dialog tree that ended up with either "Wait, let me explain." or "Attack!" and I thought it was entirely in character to attack. This triggered a huge fight against like 15 Harpers, which I eventually won. Afterwards, there was a lull in the combat because even though the rest of the Inn was auto-hostile it turned out, they were also too far away to start a fight until I wandered closer. In that lull, Karlach had a "!" appear over her. Which I figured would be a scene of her really pissed off at what I just did. Nope. It was a dialog about how cool Jaheria is and how she wondered what bars Jaheria goes to in Baldur's Gate. 

Which was extremely odd since Jaheria's lifeless body was at our feet. It felt like the dialog that was supposed to trigger after a more peaceful encounter. And then I went back to camp since I had zero resources left, and absolutely no one had anything to say about what happened (though maybe they will if I finish killing off everyone at the Inn?).

So either there's some bugs or Larian just assumed no one would ever actually attack in this situation.

The whole thing felt really disheartening. And I'm thinking I'll probably reload from before that moment and act more the way the game expects.

Okay the game is definitely showing its cracks now. I reloaded and...

Spoiler

I had a friendly conversation with Jaheria. But in it I passed a rather difficult CHA check to hide the artifact's existence from her. Then in my very next conversation with her she's talking all about the artifact and how I should use it to help the Harper.

I think maybe I'm going to put the game down until it gets a few more patches. Maybe come back to it after Armored Core 6 and Starfield.

[karaddin]

10 hours ago, Poobah said:

I am also a big warlock lover. I play a Hexblade (the class that Arakasi is talking about here) in my main game and I really wanted to play one again... and Arakasi I have news for you. Much as Hexblade as a patron was basically a crappy way to patch Pact of the Blade to not be total dogshit, Larian just... went ahead and patched Pact of the Blade to not be total dogshit and gave it baked in charisma scaling and an extra attack at level 5 so you can go ahead and play a gish. The main thing that is missing I suppose is the "blade" cantrips, but can't have everything I suppose.

Something that isn't clear, and might be a bug - will have to see if it gets patched, is that the extra attack from pact of the blade/deepened pact stacks with martial class extra attacks, so you can go 5 warlock/7 paladin and have triple attack. Martial class extra attacks don't stack, so the only other way to get triple attack is 11 (I think) in fighter.

1 hour ago, IlyaP said:

Hey folks, I've hit a stumbling block in this game, and I was wondering if anyone could provide some help on what I should do? Guides online haven't been very helpful (pretty much all of them are works in progress). 

I'm in the ruined battlefield region of the game, and I've managed to find a way into the castle via a side waterfall area, but upon getting there, my party has to pass through yet another shadow wall, and this one burns everyone who enters it, and my player character commented that regular torches would not be enough. 

What am I missing here? Do I actually have to fight bloody Karniss and his band of roving assholes to get this lantern to progress and survive the, uh, darker darkness? Everyone in my party is now level 7 and even at that level, on storyteller mode, I'm *really* struggling and creeping uncomfortably close to rage quitting. 

Sounds like you've missed Last Light Inn? If you head back north/north west there's a bridge to an island with additional quests that should help. 

[IlyaP]

36 minutes ago, karaddin said:

Sounds like you've missed Last Light Inn? If you head back north/north west there's a bridge to an island with additional quests that should help. 

When I did that quest, some rando named Marcus showed up and kidnapped a Kate McKinnon lookalike, and left everyone in the pub for dead. It was the unhappiest pub of all time. So now it's just me, Jaheira, and a pub decorated in imagery suggestive of Jackson Pollock having a really bad day. 

[karaddin]

1 minute ago, IlyaP said:

When I did that quest, some rando named Marcus showed up and kidnapped a Kate McKinnon lookalike, and left everyone in the pub for dead. It was the unhappiest pub of all time. So now it's just me, Jaheira, and a pub decorated in imagery suggestive of Jackson Pollock having a really bad day. 

Oh. Yeah I didn't get along with Marcus and kept Kate McKinnon alive and then the harpers helped me say hello to Kar'niss. Have you tried talking to him?

[IlyaP]

2 minutes ago, karaddin said:

Oh. Yeah I didn't get along with Marcus and kept Kate McKinnon alive and then the harpers helped me say hello to Kar'niss. Have you tried talking to him?

I tried keeping whatserfacename that Marcus wanted, but every time I got him down to a certain level of health, the game auto-cut to a cut-scene with him walking into a room with her in arms and flying away. 

Which then led to not one, not two, but three more time-wasting battles against Harpers and very angry plants, and then some rando possessed guys on the bridge, and then a few random angry plants yet again. 

The whole thing was just exhausting and tedious and I can't wait for it to be over, as it's just combat, combat, combat, plus - hey, random Flaming Fist that I've not heard of until now! 

I ended up wandering all around the area, avoided detection by the wandering caravan party and one very angry drider, and found instead, an entrance to the Rosymorn Monastery. I ended up getting into a tussle with a bunch of really angry githyankis, and then flipped their goddess the finger when she tried to make demands upon me (Seriously? A god of some other group of people is gonna make demands of me? As if.), which led to me having to go on a completely unplanned and unwanted murder spree and a quick trip to the delta quadrant to have a chat with a Manic Pixie Elf that went nowhere useful. 

At this point, my party hit level 7, so I went to try and find the caravan party, including Karniss, but they all just auto-attack me on sight. Absolutely no conversational skills whatsoever, that lot. Which is where I am now - fighting a party of chucklefucks and a drider who keeps casting sanctuary (is there a way to counter that?) and then triple-hitting Wyll for way too many hit points. 

[karaddin]

AE damage goes through sanctuary, and he should lose it when he attacks...but that means he gets to hit you 3 times so not ideal. Did you get the mace from the monastery? I think that helps with the shadows.

It sounds like Marcus was bugging for you, I've been able to burst him down then pick off the rest while keeping McKinnon healed so she doesn't die. I'm also not sure why Kar'niss is already hostile for you, both times I've had the chance to talk him into giving me his lantern.

[Leofric]

I killed Marcus, but one of his pets scooped up Isobel the second she lost consciousness and flew off with her, leading to the collapse of her protection around the Inn and utter chaos that only Jaheira and my group survived.

I actually talked to Kar'niss and joined his convoy and he lead my group right into Moonrise Towers, with his lantern protects us through the shadows.

 

[Arakasi]

Oh can someone explain to me how it works with split parties? So I got into a fight (I think it was outside the ruin in starting area) and they dropped one of my characters through a hole. (Well they dropped some weight that crashed through and made a hole) So I had one character down there fighting and I thought it would cut back to my other 3 characters who were still in combat but it never seemed toZ I did four or five rounds with that character before just reloading since she was losing 4-1.

[IlyaP]

1 hour ago, karaddin said:

AE damage goes through sanctuary, and he should lose it when he attacks...but that means he gets to hit you 3 times so not ideal. Did you get the mace from the monastery? I think that helps with the shadows.

There was a mace in the monastery?!

1 hour ago, karaddin said:

It sounds like Marcus was bugging for you, I've been able to burst him down then pick off the rest while keeping McKinnon healed so she doesn't die. I'm also not sure why Kar'niss is already hostile for you, both times I've had the chance to talk him into giving me his lantern.

I wondered if maybe it has something to do with keeping McKinnon alive, or taking out the other bat-foes he throws at me first, but neither tactic ever changed the outcome of the fight. I'd be in mid-combat, tossing a spell and - BAM! - it'd go straight to cut scene. I cannot figure out what caused it and by this point, I can't help but wonder if it's in fact bugged as you suggested. 

Later on, I found Karniss down near Rathwoice or whatever that part of the map is called, and he just auto-aggros me, no matter what attempt I take. I ended up standing on the top of a ruined road across from where he and his goons stood in a halo of light, and with took out all his cronies with a fireball before finally going in against him alone. Took about ten minutes, but he finally went down - as did several of my party members. 

[IlyaP]

1 hour ago, Leofric said:

I actually talked to Kar'niss and joined his convoy and he lead my group right into Moonrise Towers, with his lantern protects us through the shadows.

*grumble*

Where did you first meet him? 

[Leofric]

I heard him talking on the road when I was searching the barn east of the Pottery Place.   He kills one of his followers for not listening to  him about staying in the light of his lantern, but I walked up and we did the whole true soul recognition thing and then he invited me along.

[karaddin]

1 hour ago, Arakasi said:

Oh can someone explain to me how it works with split parties? So I got into a fight (I think it was outside the ruin in starting area) and they dropped one of my characters through a hole. (Well they dropped some weight that crashed through and made a hole) So I had one character down there fighting and I thought it would cut back to my other 3 characters who were still in combat but it never seemed toZ I did four or five rounds with that character before just reloading since she was losing 4-1.

If the other party members aren't in sight when combat starts they stay out of it (and out of turn based mode) until they enter combat. You can use this by ungrouping and having everyone hiding, initiate combat on your character with the best initiative and then use sneak attacks/sneak fireballs etc from everyone else so they're joining the fight on terms you want. You simply click on the portrait on the left to switch to the out of combat party members and you can move them like normal.

44 minutes ago, IlyaP said:

There was a mace in the monastery?!

There was! Not too late to go back and get it if you want, it gives off light. It triggers a trap unless you've done a puzzle first, but I've just triggered the trap then taken out the components of the trap in time to disarm it.

Spoiler

The puzzle is on the roof of the monastery, the mace is behind a hidden doorway after the Gith Inquisitor/your chat with Vlakith. One of the storage rooms on the side has a couple of statues in it, you turn one to face east and the other to face west and it opens the secret door - the plaques indicate which one should face which.

 

[IlyaP]

You're amazing, thank you @karaddin, I'm definitely checking that out after work tonight. 

[Relic]

6 hours ago, Fez said:

Okay the game is definitely showing its cracks now. I reloaded and...

  Reveal hidden contents

I had a friendly conversation with Jaheria. But in it I passed a rather difficult CHA check to hide the artifact's existence from her. Then in my very next conversation with her she's talking all about the artifact and how I should use it to help the Harper.

I think maybe I'm going to put the game down until it gets a few more patches. Maybe come back to it after Armored Core 6 and Starfield.

Any news on patches?

[Fez]

2 hours ago, Relic said:

Any news on patches?

IIRC, there's been one patch mentioned so far. Patch 1 will have "thousands" of bugfixes according to Larian. They haven't given a time frame, but the rumor is that it'll be in advance of/at the same time as the PS5 release.

The one major bug that Larian has confirmed will be addressed is that the companion you get by going evil in Act 1 is supposed to be a lot more fleshed out then they are right now. Apparently the various dialog triggers aren't working correctly.

Also, I don't know all the details because I've been trying to avoid spoilers, but it sounds like there's a lot of bugs in Act 3 stemming from the fact that a major area of the game was cut sometime in the final 2 weeks before release (which likely relates to the last minute 'crisis' that the studio head accidentily mentioned in an interview). And quests that relied on going to that area are all screwed up. The hope is that either the area gets restored or that the various quest triggers get fixed (e.g. one companion's good ending is literally impossible to do right now). But there's been no announcement of if/when this will get fixed.

[Relic]

Thanks for the info. I think I'll hold off doing much else in this game till that patch.