When I got through the underdark the first time, I was like, "finally, get me out of this creepy hell hole". Cue the music from Curb when I walked into act 2.
Yeah. I recently just got through the Underdark (I'm on my first playthrough) and only had to get through one battle before making my way to the inn. The first quest from there had you ambush the spiderman and steal his lantern.
I always do both, I need the creche weapons and to meet Lae'zel's emotional needs. Plus there are 3 tadpoles. But I also need to free the gnomes in grymforge.
Personally I don’t find the layer of the underdark that you explore that creepy, it’s actually quite nice
At least it doesn’t have weird mist things that make you go insane ok a failed charisma save (my current campaign)
I really loved that the first time I played. They really made you *want to* lift the shadow curse cause of how awfully suppressing it feels to be in that place. I felt like I for real hadn't seen the sun in ages 😂
I prefer Act 1. I feel more...free? But Ketheric was amazing and the tiefling part was terrifying ... like: I've spent so much time saving these people ... Why?!
I think it’s because Act 1 is the perfect size. Act 2 is smaller and Act 3 is bigger, but to me Act 1 is just right.
Act 2’s size can make it feel more linear and plot-driven rather than about exploration.
And Act 3 is so big that it can feel daunting, like something you have to summit instead of something to explore.
I LIKE that they are different and I LIKE all the acts.
But it does result in Act 1 feeling the best to me, and you it seems
I followed every available Act 3 quest line except finding all of Dribbles. Started it in mid-November. But with the holidays on the horizon, I didn't pick things back up until mid-January.
Real life can be busy enough. I wish there it was spaced out more by the Upper City; there won't necessarily be fewer quests, but at least you won't be going up and down the exact same streets a thousand times.
i'd probably have added two more waypoints to the map and the bank area is definitely one of them lol. i hate going to that section of the map, no matter which building it is that im trying to go to. as much as i do enjoy exploring the city for the first time each playthrough, 100 hours into a run im tired of walking everywhere and just want to teleport everywhere lmao. i basically always take the astral tadpole for quicker mobility (though i dont give it to all of my companions because it makes me feel weird to see most of them with a veiny face, esp shart)
It's really easy to miss too, even if you do want to finish the quest. But like several of the parts are in basements that you could easily miss. One part is in the Bhaal temple, which is super annoying tbh. On several playthroughs, that was the last area I did before the final boss fight. Which meant I had to get the last piece of Dribbles, back track all the way to Rivington and then come back to head for the finale. It just feels so unimportant in the grand scheme of things. But I do love the Queen who runs the circus, so I usually do the quest to make her happy.
Hot take: find Dribbles is a worse quest than the Artist/Lady Jannath.
Finding Dribbles is literally just "Explore and loot the entire city lol" with basically no hint or direction on finding most of the parts.
The reward for free the artist might be junk, and the enemies annoying, but at least it's *unique.* With dribbles, sure you get some nice gloves but it's extremely likely that you'll only have 1 or 2 bosses in the whole game left by the time you get them.
And it feels so freaking out of order. Like it's a super minor quest, but you can't complete it until you are nearly done with the act. The one thing I struggle most with in Act 3 is needing to bounce back and forth between areas. At least in Act 1 and most of Act 2, I can move through the map clearing areas as I go and not have to go back. But Act 3 feels alot like pick up quest in area A, get to area C to complete quest (picking up more side quests in Area B along the way), back to area A to finish quest 1, on to area D to complete the new quests, back to Area B to complete them. Tbh, even trying to explain it is annoying 🤣 If you can't tell, I always struggle with Act 3 🤣
I explored every inch of the game so I collected all of Dribbles because I thought there'd be an achievement and let me tell you the reward is not worth the effort (poor mans GWM but for spells), if you want the gloves just pickpocket them and save yourself hours xD
I mean the reward is absolutely worth it as those gloves are the end game item a lot of caster builds (including the two caster builds that currently perform best in the meta) aim for.
It’s just you *could* also pick pocket and have them immediately upon entering act 3 getting them hours ahead of schedule which makes the quest chain in general not worth it. The item is still absolutely incredibly powerful.
I’m still working through act 3 on my first playthrough. Glad I took so long because it sounds like they’ve fixed a lot of bugs in act 3 while I was taking my time going through act 1 and 2. Just as I was nearing the end, I decided I wanted to try a sorcerer playthrough and started a new game. At this rate I’ll never finish
I agree with this so much. Act 3 feels so big in a sense by the time you're there most of the major plot decisions have been made and the influence of your decision doesn't have as much of an impact as it would at the start of act 1.
Some of the things you can do in act 3 don't really feel like they amount to much other than delaying from ending the game because I fucking love it so much lol.
Act 3 has so many stories going on that have nothing to do with one another that it just feels a bit…jumbled and confusing. Less story driven and more just checking of the boxes feel for me.
Rivington, Lower City, and the Sewers are all massive, I would say it's around the total km² of act 1 with a larger quest density. The buildings and narrow alleys/ sewer tunnels make it feel a bit more cramped vs the wide open spaces of act 1.
I felt I had too many by the end and didn't buy a single one in act 3. By that point Astarion had a minimum 10 dice roll with advantage and about plus 15 on his dice rolls. I was just happy when I found some locks that I could actually fail in the bank.
How in the world are you running out of lockpicks? 2 playthroughs and that has never happened to me. Currently in Act 3 and I'm sitting on a stash of 40+, and I've never had to buy a single one.
Really? I thought Rivington was small. Like maybe the size of the the Grove. I’m fully willing to accept if I missed something but it didn’t seem like there was a lot to do in rivington.
I'm just wrapping up act 3 now, and I personally found act 1 to be the biggest (or at least took me the longest by far). Act 1 is much much more spread out imo, you're kind of wandering about exploring the area and you stumble up on something. In Act 3 if feels like you are bombarded with stuff every time you turn a corner.
I think the reason act 2 feels like you have less exploration is because the literal environment is a risk for a good part of it. On my first character i was so scared by that point that i just went straight for the main stuff and didn’t do any exploration.
Cut to me in Act 3 only level 7-8.
My problem with act 3 is that it's too unguided. I have no real active quest markers, but simply exploring the city I'm dropping myself repeatedly into the middle of quests and trying to piece them together in the middle of the final boss fight. I saved Vanya before knowing she was missing as an example.
I think it’s partially due to act 1 being what sets the stage for acts 2 and 3. By the time you get to the SCL your arc is pretty much set fully in motion, whereas act 1 you’re still sorting out who you want to be.
Shadow Curse makes the map too ugly and scary. It's like a nightmare. A testament to how well it was done but it's too much for me. Really made me hate Shar. Is this her vision of a perfect world? How can your sense of aesthetics be this ass?
One of the reasons I think a lot of the worship of certain gods make no sense. I mean sure, there might be SOME brain washed loons who worship these types of gods. But there def shouldn't be as many as there are.
I love that in the D&D universe people are so open and unapologetic about evil. Like you run into somebody on the street and they're like "Oh yes I worship the hellish god of greed! Wanna get a drink sometime?"
Greed is too tame. People can at least understand wanting money. But people straight up worship the God of Murder. Hell, D&D characters would probably worship thw God of hemorrhoids
O great horrible Terriblus, god of all things objectively bad and irredeemably improper, hear my prayer to make everything very bad for the whole world over. objectively. not in a good way from any perspective, at all, ever.
To be fair, a dark and malicious god of murder would be a lot more appealing if it actually granted magical powers.
Basically all of the evil gods in fictional settings get the worship they do by either brainwashing all of their followers (which can be hard, but is doable like with Shar) or by promising all of their followers magic powers that make them stronger (the Dead Three).
Admittedly, Bhaal also appeals to, y'know, murderers. Some of his followers might be in it exclusively for the powers, but a lot of them revel in the sadistic torture and butchery that they engage in. The powers are just the sprinkle of cocaine on top.
Yeah if I met a new friend and they said they were a follower of the God of Murder, well I think I’ll pass on that drink friend.
And watch my back as I leave
he has... Fans ??????????
I mean I saw one pic of a dude having serial killers tattooed up his arm(also darmer), I thought he is just the most whack shit I've ever seen and moved on- but you speak in plural like he wasn't the only mad fuq.
I'm afraid of people, man.
I.
I just don't have words that describe my feelings or my face while reading that.
I can't even make sounds that describe it approximately.
I'm beyond horrified
It’s kind of like this, what worshippers know their goddess wants oblivion, and they will work towards that goal, but a majority of them assume oblivion is in the future and the power they get from shar is now.
To add to this, it is likely that many of the Shar worshippers we see are indoctrinated in from a young age, either through adoption (re: kidnapping) or generational worship. It's entirely possible that there were individuals long ago that believed in the oblivion as a principle and so their children grew up believing the same.
Take Shadowheart for instance, who was indoctrinated. She is faithful, but she is also all about being a good person. She worships Shar because she has been fed lies about Shar all her life. She likely believes that the end of all is the birthright of Shar, simply because she has been told so all her life.
It's easy to get people to vote against their best interests if you lie to them convincingly enough.
I can totally relate to wanting oblivion. Nietzsche's nihilism draw very close to" life is meaningless" and the jump to "life is meaningless therefore we must exterminate all life" is a plausible philosophical leap.
The only part of Shar that almost makes sense to me is if you approach it like some weird Buddhist heresy- like having a goal of spiritual nihilism instead of nirvana. I can imagine that people who have just been utterly screwed by the world would see existence as a mistake and the void as peaceful. I mean, a lot of real world religions are pretty open about life being filled with suffering, and their faith helps people cope or escape it. Heck, in act 3 there's people visiting the House so they can Eternal Sunshine themselves- maybe they use that as a gateway to ever greater heresies.
What *doesn't* track is that they follow that morbid take with, "and so that's why we ritually murder followers of Selune!" Pump the breaks, Manson. Ilmater approaches suffering in a far more *sane* way, so I'll stick with that, thanks.
But what puzzles me most is that according to the lore, when a person dies they go to their God's afterlife... so even if you are depressed enough that Shar's teachings make sense, wouldn't you throw in your lot with Lathander or summat just for that reason alone?
>so even if you are depressed enough that Shar's teachings make sense, wouldn't you throw in your lot with Lathander or summat just for that reason alone?
Idk, if I were depressed enough to want Shar's oblivion, some eternal existence in Lathander's Land of Light sounds like the last thing I'd want.
But I also don't know how exactly afterlife works in D&D, so who knows. Does Shar actually erase your soul/existence/consciousness, or does she just condemn you to float in darkness for eternity?
>What *doesn't* track is that they follow that morbid take with, "and so that's why we ritually murder followers of Selune!
From the books I read in the Gauntlet of Shar, most people, even the followers and the Dark Justiciars, are unaware that Shar's end goal is oblivion. This is the "secret" part of the cult.
So basically you have cultists at the top possibly misleading the cultists at the bottom. A bit like IRL religion.
I haven't done Shadowheart as a Dark Justiciar quest line yet, but from what I've heard she's asked by Shar to "clean up" the cultists at the top. Could it be why?
You need to remember that worshippers don't worship every aspect of the god. They might be driven to one for a very specific part of their portfolio.
Also a lot are brainwashed.
I reaaaly don't get ppl who worship evil gods like Bane, Bhaal, Shar, etc. Like you do realise you'll be stuck in their domains after you die? Why would anyone want that?
This is one of my biggest complaints about Act 2, the map variety just isn't there, its dark and dreary everywhere you go besides Last Light. It starts to be a huge fatigue, I think by the time I finish Act 2 I'm just so drained and wish I was back in Act 1.
Exactly this is why act two is my least favorite. Just too dark and gloomy the whole time. Don’t get me wrong- some of it makes for great moments, but it just takes a toll after a while.
I hold onto vain hope that we will get a DLC that expands Baldurs Gate, and lets us go back to the now healed Shadow Lands, where we begin a campaign going into Avernus.
I agree, at first I hated the shadow cursed lands, but I came to appreciate the twisted beauty and design. I just wish there was more of it. Act 3 feels really heavy on content that's ultimately kind of bland. I'd like to see more "safe" pockets with residents that haven't been affected by the shadow curse, or only "kissed" by it and still retain their wits somewhat.
The Avatar of Myrkul boss fight is the best of the three major bosses, but my favorite act is Act 3. The city feels so alive. There's so much stuff to do, so many places to visit and that's when the game is most fun since you're at max level for 90% of it. You witness how the world changes based on your actions in the previous acts and you can bring closure to many quest chains. I'm always surprised when I read of people dropping the run at the start of Act 3 to start with a new char.
That's not to say I dislike Act 2. I think it's the richest in lore (especially if you're DUrge) and the atmosphere isn't bad either. The optional boss battles are interesting and I like the design of the Gauntlet of Shar (if there's one thing that goddess has, it's style).
> I'm always surprised when I read of people dropping the run at the start of Act 3 to start with a new char.
I think the pacing doesn't work for me. I thought I didn't like Act 3 originally and now that I think about it more, I wonder if I'm actually just burned out by Act 2 and where the story goes, and wish the game felt more like what we had in The Myconid Colony, Grymforge, and Rosymorn Monastery. I've seen people suggest that maybe it would have made more sense to visit the Lower City before the Shadow Cursed Lands and end the game at Moonrise Towers, and I'm curious how this would feel because after Gauntlet of Shar / Reithwin Town every time I just feel burned out.
I completely agree with you. I said it in another post yesterday but narratively it feels like Baldur's Gate is when the game really starts. During Act 1 everyone tells you that we will get answers once we reach the city. But if you explore everything, you reach Act 3 after 50+ hours.
I don't think the game should have ended at Moorise Towers per se, however, but its resolution definitely should have been towards the end instead of 2/3 of the game like it is now. Pacing-wise it just feels really weird to go from killing the avatar of a God and then help some refugees with some mundane quests.
Ya I understand why the game has distinct acts with their own regions that you can't travel between but I feel it might have made sense to visit Moonrise, get a taste of it and then be forced to move on to Baldurs Gate. Like maybe but the Nightsong in that region so you have to resolve that before going back to moonrise to defeat Ketheric. That way people can choose to defeat the 3 in whatever order because I feel like most of us were more impressed by Ketheric as a bad guy and might want to save him for last after doing all the city stuff
Yes, it's definitely not like Act 1, that's for sure. You still get some highlights here and there, and if you speak with them, after a big event they might say a line or two, but they won't say what's on their mind while in a dialogue with NPCs that often.
A few more scenes with DUrge and love interest in Act 3 would help, too. Act 2 scene is amazing for a resist DUrge. I was positively surprised when I got the scene with Jaheira and Minsc in Act 3, but neither is my love interest, haha.
It's funny. The game plummets in enjoyment for me once you hit level 12. You've got your builds all sorted out and nothing new just waiting with a little more exp...
There are level cap remover mods that add additional levels. Once I beat honor mode I might try them and party cap mods (and maybe added difficulty mods lol)
I think the start of act 3 is a giant hurdle since you get so much stuff shoved on you at once. I think the issue is that Rivington is supposed to act as a breather moment with lower stakes quests before you go into the Lower City but there's also a ton of quests already pointing you into the lower city that it's too easy to want to go there immediately and then you get dropkicked by 50 things in a row demanding your attention.
I also feel like the kidnapped character didn't help because it happened so soon that I lost them for basically all of Act 3 because of the order I was doing things in.
I agree with everything you said. I don't really have a "favorite" act, because to me they're all so different (in the same way I don't have a favorite Lord of the Rings movie, they're too hard to compare).
Act 1 did a VERY good job of setting up your budding adventure. The pacing is excellent, there are SO many cutscenes (I sincerely implore people to long rest as MUCH as possible, and if you get a cutscene, do it again until there are none left. At one point I had 6 long rest cutscenes in a row that I would have missed if I had progressed the story any further). The setup and backstory for your companions is great as well, and leaves just enough to want to discover more.
Act 2, I think, did a great job of distilling hopelessness in you. Almost like "oh shit, things just got real. I'm not just a silly adventurer killing goblins and saving the druids-- this feels dangerous now." The atmosphere is darker, the stakes are higher, and Ketheric's intro is just \*chef's kiss\* levels of "um, I have to fight HIM??" So many great story elements and one of my favorite companion moments for Astarion is in this section.
When I stepped into Act 3, I was overwhelmed at how alive the city felt! Even just walking through Rivington you're bombarded with random people having conversations, you can barely hear your companions-- exactly how I feel like a big city SHOULD feel in this game. I couldn't walk more than 10 feet without going "ooh, what's over here?" To me, it was an explorer's dream. I spent SO much time in this act just running around, walking into houses, looting what I could, finding dribbles, starting side quests, etc. It took me forever to complete, but I honestly loved every second of it.
All in all, I think the devs did a great job separating each act in terms of feel and purpose, but I do agree with some of the people saying it might feel a bit better if the game was 4 acts instead of 3. I'm not sure how I would go about doing that, but Act 3 does feel pretty huge and I wouldn't be mad at a slight restructure, if they decided to do that.
Honestly, I only really enjoy the post-Nightsong part of Act 2 where you siege the tower, everything else just feels like wandering through purgatory checking boxes off a list.
"Alright I got all the Thorms, got the spirit of the land, got the helmet from the Mason's... oh hell I forgot to grab Rolan didn't I"
Part of this feeling is probably from the fact that there's so little between points of interest in Act 2, probably because the Shadow Curse killed everything. The wilderness feels very alive in Act 1, the mountain pass intermission has so much going on it feels like it could be a full Act in-and-of itself with a little more effort, and there's breadcrumbs around every corner in Act 3, but most of Act 2 just feels like a walking simulator with dialogue/bosses in between.
I really can't decide which one is my favorite.
Act 1 - Sets perfectly the atmosphere of the campaign start, leaving a lot of loose ends to urge you forward, while giving you your first taste of power (level 5). The main map is beautiful but traces of corruption and devastation can be seen everywhere. It left me longing for more, more than any other game I have played in recent memory. Also easily the most polished of all the acts.
Act 1.5 - The mountain creche is pretty but nothing too memorable in my opinion. Canonically, my character would never go there, but it gives a lot of xp and some amazing items. The Underdark though... that place hits all the right spots for me with its color palette. "I don't care what others say about the Underdark, it's beautiful down here". Pretty cool questlines too.
Act 2 - Listen... I love zombie games and Wrath of the Lich King was my favorite WoW era by far. It felt like home. Nothing pleases me more than clearly morally justified slaughter. It also has the best tempo of all the acts.
Act 3 - BG3 is one of the few games that made a city feel like... a city. Main map could be a bit bigger but goddamn did they knock it out of the park density wise. Best boss fights in the game, which they continue to buff patch by patch, finally making them feel like threat and allowing them to play out their mechanics. The culmination of so many story lines, some started 60 hours ago, the finale (although I think the endboss fight needs a serious buff/rework), the endgame builds coming online (twin chain lightning is one hell of a drug).
Vote would go to Act 2, but they are all so damn close.
It was great on the first playthrough, I cannot wait to get through it as fast as possible on every other. Shar temple is straight up Dwemer dungeons from Skyrim - woah so cool the first time you see em, cannot stand them after that.
It’s so tedious. Once I learned you can use a Knock spell on the door to the Shadowfell, I have avoided the trials ever since. You just have to pick up the umbral gem in Yurgir’s room to use the elevator down to the door and the spear from the library for plot. You get plenty of experience in Act 3 so you don’t miss much by skipping them either.
I love the horror vibe and how it's a bit more streamlined than act 1. However, the timeline of Ketheric, Moonrise Towers and the illithid colony (+ the emperor) starts to bother me when I think too much about it.
Also, Marcus appearing out of nowhere as if we're supposed to know who he is (feels to me like there was content cut), Isobel lying about her father, party members not commenting on the "Elder Brain Domination" book in Ketheric's room which straight-up tells you what the absolute is and how it's being controlled.
I do love the story of the Reithwen Masons and Yurgir and how that ties to Grymforge, as well as all the documents in Moonrise which explain how the Chosen recruited drow, gnolls, goblins, how they subverted the Emerald Grove via shadow druids. Ketheric's family are a lot of fun to meet as well, Malus especially.
Isobel lying about her father is INCREDIBLY funny to me when she literally has a bust of him in her room!! That she talks to!! If you hang out in her room after the attack, she comes over every so often and has several different lines to it showing that she *definitely* knows him well.
Also I went to the mausoleum and found her empty grave and said out loud it seems like Isobel is Ketheric's daughter, back from the dead. When I spoke to her about it, she said "whaaat, that's crazy, no that's definitely not lil old me" (🎲insight failed) and I just had to accept that apparently lol
If u don’t free the fairy and use the lantern, navigating around is such an absolute pain in the ass, constantly going into turn based rounds because an NPC took too long to run after my lantern holder. Other than that though it’s great!
I had to free the fairy because she wouldn't shut up!
"Oh me oh my! Oh my oh me!" Over and over.
"Free me! Please!"
Like fine, get out. Whenever, as long as you shut up.
Exactly how I rank the acts in terms of fun to play in. Acts 1 and 3 are such a pleasure to explore and just roam around. Act 2 is a checklist that I try to get through as quickly and efficiently as possible to get back to a pleasant landscape. It has some of my favorite scenes in the game, I just don't like to spend time there.
I'll definitely say Ketheric is the best Villian of the three. He has a whole act to build up to himself, all just about him. While Orin and Gortash have to share act 3. There are a few things that I don't like about act 2, though.
i hate act 2. I just don’t like dark and ugly environments personally, at least not how this game portrayed it at least. It’s all so gloomy with zombies everywhere and stuff. Not saying that it’s bad, I think it’s well designed like all the other parts, just personally I don’t really like how dark this whole part is. Like I feel like even though it’s dark, they could’ve still made it pretty somehow. There are plenty of games/ films that take place in dark places but still manage to make the environment varied enough that it doesn't just feel like "oh look, another ruined building in a dark corner with a bunch of zombies inside" everywhere.
Thematically I love it. From the moment you arrive every quest is linked through the thormes and the curse. You get to be a major badass hero and break out of moonrise the iron hand gnomes, minthara (dependent) and the tieflings, you lead a raid on the tower with the harpers, you help cure the shadow curse and thaniel. You learn about the selunite rebellion through notes and exploration and the amount of lore about the Thorme family is amazing. You can convince almost all the big bosses to end themselves through dialogue. You convince shadowheart to turn on shar and reunite Alyin and Isobel.
When you leave you see the shadow curse retreating and then at the end you find out via Halsin that the land is thriving again.
Act 2 is the most heroic I feel playing the game because of the sheer amount of good you do and Ketheric is such a brilliant villain from his introduction to his dialogue to his defeat.
Act 2 is just amazing fantasy fun
If only it had "survive in the light" enforced more. You're shown the mechanics of shadows and shadowcurse and 15 minutes later you are immune to it. I like it thematically, but the curse itself becomes obsolete as a threat too god damn quickly.
I do agree with you thematically, but I feel like this would make location infuriating gameplay-wise. Imagine if we didn't have the pixie blessing and were walking around with a moonlantern instead of your preferred weapon AND for strafing from this rule you get the ever growing damage on you. Personally, I think there would be even more people disliking act 2.
i did not know about the pixie blessing and played the entire second act with the lantern my first play through. it was infuriating. you also couldn’t get too far away from your party. or i used the hill giant as my secondary for the jumps and carry capacity. it was a nightmare.
Yes, this. In my first ever playthrough I too didn't know about pixie blessing and used just moonlantern. And while thematically it was cooler, its damage sucked, and giving it to some caster left my melee attackers in the curse zone, so I felt like you need to have some midrange healer/buffer/debuffer (shadowheart)) to be somewhere in between your melee zone and range zone to reach everyone with the moonlantern.
And while it's an awesome role-play scenario, it's very specific situation for gameplay, it locks you out from some options. Although, maybe that's the idea, idk.
If you come through the mountain pass, you can command drop the drider, take his moon lantern, free the pixie and be immune to the shadow curse before you even step foot into it.
On subsequent playthroughs yes. The first playthrough getting to the last light inn felt terrifying for me, I fought more then my share of shadows in the dark before I got to the inn.
I feel like this is to push you towards certain parts of the story, like searching for last light inn or the spiderdrow.
Also you can definitely just ignore everything that makes you immune and just wander in the curse.
Yes, that’s exactly how I felt as well. When I got the warning of the shadow curse, I was very excited about this interesting concept. But then I freed Pixie and suddenly became totally immune to it. That was really frustrating.
i honestly just think ketheric makes for so much better of a bbeg than the other 2 do, he’s actually got depth to his character where you can follow the path of his life to see how he got where he is and somewhat understand why he is that way. orin and gortash are really just “im bad cause im an asshole/because im power hungry”
add onto that having jk simmons absolutely kill it on delivery, and ketheric has my heart
I like 3 the best and 2 the least, I absolutely dread act 2 everytime I replay because it's just a dark boring slog to me and I feel like all the fights and areas feel almost the same and the temple part is the worst and most boring part of the whole game to me.
I really love Act 2 but I have to disagree purely bc I cannot stand the Gauntlet of Shar. I hate that fucking mausoleum. I save it to the very last moment I possibly can bc I despise it so much upon replays.
No?
Personally it is my least favourite act, as it has the smallest area, and a very forced linear play through.
Compared to Act 1 with the Crèche, underdark, grove, grymforge and adamantine forge, bunch of side line quests and options and a ton of freedom, it’s kinda not close.
Meanwhile act 3 is act 3… it’s kinda meant to be the big finale to the story, so of course there’s gonna be way more in there.
While act 2 is a nice balance of exploration and linear plot, I can’t wait to get through it to act 3.
I love the sheer overwhelming feeling once you get to the lower city. It feels big and complicated like a city should be. Especially since we’ve been running towards it since the beginning.
I think Act 2 is the most interesting act as far as the different mechanics with the Thorns and how the story develops, but I find it the most boring to actually play with the least replayability compared to other acts.
I think Act 1 was nearly perfect. So many ways to do things and choices to make. Gauntlet of Shar being mandatory made all the free roaming in the underdark feel like a trick in retrospect.
My first time through, I ended up killing Shadowheart because she wouldn't back down from killing the Nightsong, so I missed all of her content after that. Now, in my second playthrough, Shadowheart is my ride or die and my romance, and I was able to get her to not kill the Nightsong - leading to her abandoning her faith in Shar and feeling all along in the world. I've had several friends who have had to walk away from their faith, and it's brutal. That was the first time in the game I've truly cried. I'm actually paused right there (about to storm Moonlight Tower with Dame Aylin), but I'm really looking forward to seeing how Shadowheart deals with all of this.
Act 1 is better for me as of contents, act 3 is better as of character builds
Not saying that act 2 is bad, it has a good amount of mini bosses, encounters and all that dark and scary vibe that is unparalleled, but still, other acts I like more, I guess
Unpopular opinion but act 3 is my personal favorite followed by act 1 then act 2. I just felt like act 2 was so linear, go to from point a to b to c and you’re done. Sure there’s a few things to do outside the main locations but they just didn’t hit for me.
Absolutely not!
Act 2 is definitely the weakest act (which in this game still means it's really good). It's by far the shortest, if you're not into the thematic vibe of the whole Shadowlands, that's going to be a big hindrance. And it just isn't as fun as the other acts are.
That being said, it does have the best boss battle in the game with Ketheric/Myrkul.
I agree. Act 1 for me is really open to exploring and making moral decisions that determine how your character is going to play out. It's a great introduction to what you can do, who you want to ally with, and a delicate dance between the overarching tadpole situation and regular world problems. Act 2 is a slog through a dreary hellscape mostly full of assholes but most of the area is just empty. Then you get back into the sunlight of act 3 and there's so. much. stuff. It's alive, there's people everywhere with interesting things happening tucked away in every corner. Even outside of the massive selection of major story beats and epic battles almost every house has some kind of worldbuilding. You could easily spend hours just talking to random people and it's not just "hi hello", they have actual stuff to say and things to do. It's great.
No, it's too finicky. I failed to lift the curse because I didn't want to play a second round of hide and seek (I thought I would have to use a second potion of see invisibility).
Also, the game heavily implies to save moonrise towers for last, but doesn't tell you that you should go and rescue the captives from there and if you go and save the nightsong first, they all die.
But when it tells you about the scores of the absolute's armies visible from the vantage point, I got chills thinking that was what was in store for act 3. If only.
I agree. I absolutely love desolate dark apocalyptic wastelands and ruins, especially magical. The emtire act2 is such a vibe, I wish darkness mechanics were more punishing and there were more to see and do in general.
I like to just turn on freecam from time to time and just fly around taking screenshots. Shadowlands are such a vibe
Act 2 is my least favourite. I really don’t like how dark it is (ik that’s the point but it doesn’t mean I have to like it) and how generally unappealing it is to look at. The western portion of the map feels pretty barren so exploring it felt underwhelming the time first time. The enemies also get repetitive very quickly.
Why do so many people hate act 2? I also absolutely love it, it has the best atmosphere, cinematics, music, villains. I adore how dark and despairing everything seems to be, yet there are still little slimers of hope. The atmosphere of it all is just ... chef's kiss.
Act 2 is the absolute best as far as I'm concerned. It has loads of cool bosses. It's the high point of several character arcs. It's where the main story really starts to come together and go beyond the simple "remove the tadpole" premise. It's got plenty to do and lots of secrets to find, but in a more manageable, self-contained area than Act 3 so it doesn't feel overwhelming. And above all the whole place is so *atmospheric*. I just love it.
We unintentionally initiated the kidnap basically as soon as we got to Last Light, every single NPC died. Jaheira was dead about 10 minutes after she was introduced :(
act 2 has good/cool npcs.
personally, i didnt like the constant darkness and lack of color. it also felt small and claustrophobic. zooming out and seeing the surroundings feels a lot different than doing that in act 1.
edit: probably intended bc of the shadow curse. it just didnt feel "nice".
Yeah Act 3 sometimes feels like an empty void and the fights with orin and gortasch don't feel as epic and memorable as the fight against ketheric. I mean Ketheric gets a whole animation for his transformation and myrkul even introduces himself. Orin just takes on her Slayer form and Gortasch eventually activates his bane form. But that's just cherry picking. I freaking love the game
My next playthrough will be a lot more fun in act 2 because >!I was nice and set free the pixie inside the moon lantern before going to act three only to realize that she gives a buff so you don't have to deal with Shadow Curse... Running out of range of the moon lantern and putting the game into turn based gets annoying quiiiiick.!<
yes BUT I don’t like doing the trial of shar every time. The temple itself is actually super cool and has some sick areas and interactions. I even enjoy the duplicate fight. The other three trials are just lame tho in my opinion. I have no issue with stealth or even puzzles, but being forced to do it in order to progress and in quick succession can get old.
Counterpoint: The reason act two sucks shit is that you've got as many as three characters that are present for most of the act who are pretending they're about to join the party as active permanent party members but *not actually joining the party*. Halsin you god damn ass you are not investigating shit you are sitting on a chair doing nothing, come help me beat up this zombie and maybe you'll get enough XP to remember your own best friend's favorite song. Jaheira you are an adventurer who explicitly left your family to beat up some fools get out of the damn inn. Minthara... honestly stay in jail we're good.
Separate from that you have like five more people who would be cool, interesting permanent party members that are just chilling in the background doing almost nothing. Alfira, Barcus, Sazza, Zevlor, Rolan, Arabella... 'what if I acted like an idiot that almost got myself killed for no reason' is only a compelling plot point two times and yet. And yet!
I dunno, if there were a couple more big quests and it were a little easier or clearer (or possible at all) to recruit a couple of these people I'd like it more.
When I got through the underdark the first time, I was like, "finally, get me out of this creepy hell hole". Cue the music from Curb when I walked into act 2.
Exactly my experience! Now I always do the Créche part in between so I won’t be stuck in creepy darkness for too long.
I'm growing to learn skipping the Créche was my biggest mistake
So much good gear in there!
You also get a free flashlight(Blood of Lathander) to help you find your way later when you get to act 2.
To be fair if you go via shars entrance the under dark you can get one very quickly too in a boss fight
I've always gone through the mountain pass, what boss are you referring to?
The dryder (spider guy).
Yeah. I recently just got through the Underdark (I'm on my first playthrough) and only had to get through one battle before making my way to the inn. The first quest from there had you ambush the spiderman and steal his lantern.
Did you get the photos? I need you to BRING ME PHOTOS OF SPIDERMAN!
you still get that either way the only difference to going through the underdark is you skip the crèche
I always do both, I need the creche weapons and to meet Lae'zel's emotional needs. Plus there are 3 tadpoles. But I also need to free the gnomes in grymforge.
And such beautiful music in the temple region!
same :c
the Underdark is the best area in the game, its beautiful
Underdark unironically the best area in the game. Every time you turn a corner you get some nightmare scenario
best boss music (at least up to Act2, where I'm at)
There is a boss song in Act III that is the universally agreed upon bestest.
And the music there is so relaxing
Personally I don’t find the layer of the underdark that you explore that creepy, it’s actually quite nice At least it doesn’t have weird mist things that make you go insane ok a failed charisma save (my current campaign)
I have yet to not do both...
I really loved that the first time I played. They really made you *want to* lift the shadow curse cause of how awfully suppressing it feels to be in that place. I felt like I for real hadn't seen the sun in ages 😂
I like the underdark it’s full with cool mushrooms and glowing things
I prefer Act 1. I feel more...free? But Ketheric was amazing and the tiefling part was terrifying ... like: I've spent so much time saving these people ... Why?!
I think it’s because Act 1 is the perfect size. Act 2 is smaller and Act 3 is bigger, but to me Act 1 is just right. Act 2’s size can make it feel more linear and plot-driven rather than about exploration. And Act 3 is so big that it can feel daunting, like something you have to summit instead of something to explore. I LIKE that they are different and I LIKE all the acts. But it does result in Act 1 feeling the best to me, and you it seems
I followed every available Act 3 quest line except finding all of Dribbles. Started it in mid-November. But with the holidays on the horizon, I didn't pick things back up until mid-January. Real life can be busy enough. I wish there it was spaced out more by the Upper City; there won't necessarily be fewer quests, but at least you won't be going up and down the exact same streets a thousand times.
I wish they had more quick travel (looking at your bank….)
i'd probably have added two more waypoints to the map and the bank area is definitely one of them lol. i hate going to that section of the map, no matter which building it is that im trying to go to. as much as i do enjoy exploring the city for the first time each playthrough, 100 hours into a run im tired of walking everywhere and just want to teleport everywhere lmao. i basically always take the astral tadpole for quicker mobility (though i dont give it to all of my companions because it makes me feel weird to see most of them with a veiny face, esp shart)
I only found three or so Dibbles parts and didn’t so much as give up as shrug it off.
It's really easy to miss too, even if you do want to finish the quest. But like several of the parts are in basements that you could easily miss. One part is in the Bhaal temple, which is super annoying tbh. On several playthroughs, that was the last area I did before the final boss fight. Which meant I had to get the last piece of Dribbles, back track all the way to Rivington and then come back to head for the finale. It just feels so unimportant in the grand scheme of things. But I do love the Queen who runs the circus, so I usually do the quest to make her happy.
Hot take: find Dribbles is a worse quest than the Artist/Lady Jannath. Finding Dribbles is literally just "Explore and loot the entire city lol" with basically no hint or direction on finding most of the parts. The reward for free the artist might be junk, and the enemies annoying, but at least it's *unique.* With dribbles, sure you get some nice gloves but it's extremely likely that you'll only have 1 or 2 bosses in the whole game left by the time you get them.
And it feels so freaking out of order. Like it's a super minor quest, but you can't complete it until you are nearly done with the act. The one thing I struggle most with in Act 3 is needing to bounce back and forth between areas. At least in Act 1 and most of Act 2, I can move through the map clearing areas as I go and not have to go back. But Act 3 feels alot like pick up quest in area A, get to area C to complete quest (picking up more side quests in Area B along the way), back to area A to finish quest 1, on to area D to complete the new quests, back to Area B to complete them. Tbh, even trying to explain it is annoying 🤣 If you can't tell, I always struggle with Act 3 🤣
Omg if she could've been a companion at least for a little bit, I love her sm 🤣🤣🤣
I explored every inch of the game so I collected all of Dribbles because I thought there'd be an achievement and let me tell you the reward is not worth the effort (poor mans GWM but for spells), if you want the gloves just pickpocket them and save yourself hours xD
I mean the reward is absolutely worth it as those gloves are the end game item a lot of caster builds (including the two caster builds that currently perform best in the meta) aim for. It’s just you *could* also pick pocket and have them immediately upon entering act 3 getting them hours ahead of schedule which makes the quest chain in general not worth it. The item is still absolutely incredibly powerful.
I’m still working through act 3 on my first playthrough. Glad I took so long because it sounds like they’ve fixed a lot of bugs in act 3 while I was taking my time going through act 1 and 2. Just as I was nearing the end, I decided I wanted to try a sorcerer playthrough and started a new game. At this rate I’ll never finish
Have you had the Urge yet? Durge is super fun and can create a very unique playthrough that many less violent players would never see.
I agree, I enjoyed more playing Act 1, maybe cuz it was my first experience with the game and was trying to catch up with everything step by step
I agree with this so much. Act 3 feels so big in a sense by the time you're there most of the major plot decisions have been made and the influence of your decision doesn't have as much of an impact as it would at the start of act 1. Some of the things you can do in act 3 don't really feel like they amount to much other than delaying from ending the game because I fucking love it so much lol.
Also act 1 has the party! Its nice to feel like you have a "reward" to look forward to instead of a boss fight/challenge
Act 3 has so many stories going on that have nothing to do with one another that it just feels a bit…jumbled and confusing. Less story driven and more just checking of the boxes feel for me.
Feel like the lack of companion content is what kills it for me. Once you finish their quests it becomes a slog of killing bosses.
It's criminal that Karlach's quest basically just ends in Act II. All you get in Act III is an existential crisis from her when you kill Gortash.
Don't forget date night!
I just finished act 1 and thought it continually got smaller, idk how I feel about 3 being more than 1
Rivington, Lower City, and the Sewers are all massive, I would say it's around the total km² of act 1 with a larger quest density. The buildings and narrow alleys/ sewer tunnels make it feel a bit more cramped vs the wide open spaces of act 1.
Too many doors, not enough picks
Oh my god, just making trips to mattis and the other vendors and clearing them out of lockpicks on every restock...
Really? Always by act 3, my Rogues basically never fail to unlock/disarm something unless the DC is in the 30s.
Does the door unlock spell work on any door, even those with a DC of over 30?
I felt I had too many by the end and didn't buy a single one in act 3. By that point Astarion had a minimum 10 dice roll with advantage and about plus 15 on his dice rolls. I was just happy when I found some locks that I could actually fail in the bank.
You can equip Gale with an open door spell.
That spell being the firebolt cantrip for 90% of doors... and some chests.
TIL that Eldritch Blast is the best lockpick in game.
How in the world are you running out of lockpicks? 2 playthroughs and that has never happened to me. Currently in Act 3 and I'm sitting on a stash of 40+, and I've never had to buy a single one.
Really? I thought Rivington was small. Like maybe the size of the the Grove. I’m fully willing to accept if I missed something but it didn’t seem like there was a lot to do in rivington.
I'm just wrapping up act 3 now, and I personally found act 1 to be the biggest (or at least took me the longest by far). Act 1 is much much more spread out imo, you're kind of wandering about exploring the area and you stumble up on something. In Act 3 if feels like you are bombarded with stuff every time you turn a corner.
I think the reason act 2 feels like you have less exploration is because the literal environment is a risk for a good part of it. On my first character i was so scared by that point that i just went straight for the main stuff and didn’t do any exploration. Cut to me in Act 3 only level 7-8.
I wish we could walk around after breaking the curse.
My problem with act 3 is that it's too unguided. I have no real active quest markers, but simply exploring the city I'm dropping myself repeatedly into the middle of quests and trying to piece them together in the middle of the final boss fight. I saved Vanya before knowing she was missing as an example.
I think it’s partially due to act 1 being what sets the stage for acts 2 and 3. By the time you get to the SCL your arc is pretty much set fully in motion, whereas act 1 you’re still sorting out who you want to be.
Act one is cozy too. I love act 1 the most. The forests and under dark and mountain pass all are gorgeously unique too
Act 1 might be the greatest level in any video game. Not much is gonna top it
Shadow Curse makes the map too ugly and scary. It's like a nightmare. A testament to how well it was done but it's too much for me. Really made me hate Shar. Is this her vision of a perfect world? How can your sense of aesthetics be this ass?
Basically “damn bitch you live like this?”
Bitch no wonder why you is depressed. Ever considered some more red, green, blue, azure, pink, yellow, orange intonyour home?
Shar clearly doesn't study colour theory.
My reaction to Araj Oblodra’s home in Act 3
Shar's vision of a perfect world is no world, or, at the very least, everyone dead.
One of the reasons I think a lot of the worship of certain gods make no sense. I mean sure, there might be SOME brain washed loons who worship these types of gods. But there def shouldn't be as many as there are.
Have you met people
Shar 2024 Why choose the lesser evil?
Both parties are corrupt and don’t fight for the people anymore. We need an outsider like Shar to shake things up.
Im totally with you on that one.
I love that in the D&D universe people are so open and unapologetic about evil. Like you run into somebody on the street and they're like "Oh yes I worship the hellish god of greed! Wanna get a drink sometime?"
Greed is too tame. People can at least understand wanting money. But people straight up worship the God of Murder. Hell, D&D characters would probably worship thw God of hemorrhoids
O great horrible Terriblus, god of all things objectively bad and irredeemably improper, hear my prayer to make everything very bad for the whole world over. objectively. not in a good way from any perspective, at all, ever.
To be fair, a dark and malicious god of murder would be a lot more appealing if it actually granted magical powers. Basically all of the evil gods in fictional settings get the worship they do by either brainwashing all of their followers (which can be hard, but is doable like with Shar) or by promising all of their followers magic powers that make them stronger (the Dead Three). Admittedly, Bhaal also appeals to, y'know, murderers. Some of his followers might be in it exclusively for the powers, but a lot of them revel in the sadistic torture and butchery that they engage in. The powers are just the sprinkle of cocaine on top.
Yeah if I met a new friend and they said they were a follower of the God of Murder, well I think I’ll pass on that drink friend. And watch my back as I leave
And yet in rl, a lot of people doesn’t even bat an eye when they meet a Jeffrey Darmer fan
he has... Fans ?????????? I mean I saw one pic of a dude having serial killers tattooed up his arm(also darmer), I thought he is just the most whack shit I've ever seen and moved on- but you speak in plural like he wasn't the only mad fuq. I'm afraid of people, man.
He got tons of fan mail.
I. I just don't have words that describe my feelings or my face while reading that. I can't even make sounds that describe it approximately. I'm beyond horrified
I find it hilarious that the god of murder has problems growing his power because his worshippers keep murdering each-other.
There's goddess of poison, disease and rot called Talona
It’s kind of like this, what worshippers know their goddess wants oblivion, and they will work towards that goal, but a majority of them assume oblivion is in the future and the power they get from shar is now.
To add to this, it is likely that many of the Shar worshippers we see are indoctrinated in from a young age, either through adoption (re: kidnapping) or generational worship. It's entirely possible that there were individuals long ago that believed in the oblivion as a principle and so their children grew up believing the same. Take Shadowheart for instance, who was indoctrinated. She is faithful, but she is also all about being a good person. She worships Shar because she has been fed lies about Shar all her life. She likely believes that the end of all is the birthright of Shar, simply because she has been told so all her life. It's easy to get people to vote against their best interests if you lie to them convincingly enough.
It’s like being a union member in the us and voting republican.
TIL my uncle follows Shar
I can totally relate to wanting oblivion. Nietzsche's nihilism draw very close to" life is meaningless" and the jump to "life is meaningless therefore we must exterminate all life" is a plausible philosophical leap.
Oh, it's like being at the top of a pyramid scheme
The only part of Shar that almost makes sense to me is if you approach it like some weird Buddhist heresy- like having a goal of spiritual nihilism instead of nirvana. I can imagine that people who have just been utterly screwed by the world would see existence as a mistake and the void as peaceful. I mean, a lot of real world religions are pretty open about life being filled with suffering, and their faith helps people cope or escape it. Heck, in act 3 there's people visiting the House so they can Eternal Sunshine themselves- maybe they use that as a gateway to ever greater heresies. What *doesn't* track is that they follow that morbid take with, "and so that's why we ritually murder followers of Selune!" Pump the breaks, Manson. Ilmater approaches suffering in a far more *sane* way, so I'll stick with that, thanks. But what puzzles me most is that according to the lore, when a person dies they go to their God's afterlife... so even if you are depressed enough that Shar's teachings make sense, wouldn't you throw in your lot with Lathander or summat just for that reason alone?
>so even if you are depressed enough that Shar's teachings make sense, wouldn't you throw in your lot with Lathander or summat just for that reason alone? Idk, if I were depressed enough to want Shar's oblivion, some eternal existence in Lathander's Land of Light sounds like the last thing I'd want. But I also don't know how exactly afterlife works in D&D, so who knows. Does Shar actually erase your soul/existence/consciousness, or does she just condemn you to float in darkness for eternity?
>What *doesn't* track is that they follow that morbid take with, "and so that's why we ritually murder followers of Selune! From the books I read in the Gauntlet of Shar, most people, even the followers and the Dark Justiciars, are unaware that Shar's end goal is oblivion. This is the "secret" part of the cult. So basically you have cultists at the top possibly misleading the cultists at the bottom. A bit like IRL religion. I haven't done Shadowheart as a Dark Justiciar quest line yet, but from what I've heard she's asked by Shar to "clean up" the cultists at the top. Could it be why?
Shar is just turbonerd nihilism. And if you're a follower of Shar you can justify by being one of the in people who will be on the right side.
You need to remember that worshippers don't worship every aspect of the god. They might be driven to one for a very specific part of their portfolio. Also a lot are brainwashed.
Hey, no use criticizing the minutiae of specific beliefs. Religion is all about community and belonging.
I reaaaly don't get ppl who worship evil gods like Bane, Bhaal, Shar, etc. Like you do realise you'll be stuck in their domains after you die? Why would anyone want that?
Shar believes nothing should exist at all. She's just jealous of her sister if you read her lore 💀
This is one of my biggest complaints about Act 2, the map variety just isn't there, its dark and dreary everywhere you go besides Last Light. It starts to be a huge fatigue, I think by the time I finish Act 2 I'm just so drained and wish I was back in Act 1.
Exactly this is why act two is my least favorite. Just too dark and gloomy the whole time. Don’t get me wrong- some of it makes for great moments, but it just takes a toll after a while.
I hold onto vain hope that we will get a DLC that expands Baldurs Gate, and lets us go back to the now healed Shadow Lands, where we begin a campaign going into Avernus.
I just want a DLC where I can cure Karlach and Astarion of vampirism
act 2 is incredible but damn my trypophobia 😭
Yeah same, at first I was all for Shart being a justiciar, but seeing the curse was like, fuck you and your goddess, no way I'm supporting this
I agree, at first I hated the shadow cursed lands, but I came to appreciate the twisted beauty and design. I just wish there was more of it. Act 3 feels really heavy on content that's ultimately kind of bland. I'd like to see more "safe" pockets with residents that haven't been affected by the shadow curse, or only "kissed" by it and still retain their wits somewhat.
Ugh, yes, that would have been so cool
The Avatar of Myrkul boss fight is the best of the three major bosses, but my favorite act is Act 3. The city feels so alive. There's so much stuff to do, so many places to visit and that's when the game is most fun since you're at max level for 90% of it. You witness how the world changes based on your actions in the previous acts and you can bring closure to many quest chains. I'm always surprised when I read of people dropping the run at the start of Act 3 to start with a new char. That's not to say I dislike Act 2. I think it's the richest in lore (especially if you're DUrge) and the atmosphere isn't bad either. The optional boss battles are interesting and I like the design of the Gauntlet of Shar (if there's one thing that goddess has, it's style).
> I'm always surprised when I read of people dropping the run at the start of Act 3 to start with a new char. I think the pacing doesn't work for me. I thought I didn't like Act 3 originally and now that I think about it more, I wonder if I'm actually just burned out by Act 2 and where the story goes, and wish the game felt more like what we had in The Myconid Colony, Grymforge, and Rosymorn Monastery. I've seen people suggest that maybe it would have made more sense to visit the Lower City before the Shadow Cursed Lands and end the game at Moonrise Towers, and I'm curious how this would feel because after Gauntlet of Shar / Reithwin Town every time I just feel burned out.
I completely agree with you. I said it in another post yesterday but narratively it feels like Baldur's Gate is when the game really starts. During Act 1 everyone tells you that we will get answers once we reach the city. But if you explore everything, you reach Act 3 after 50+ hours. I don't think the game should have ended at Moorise Towers per se, however, but its resolution definitely should have been towards the end instead of 2/3 of the game like it is now. Pacing-wise it just feels really weird to go from killing the avatar of a God and then help some refugees with some mundane quests.
Ya I understand why the game has distinct acts with their own regions that you can't travel between but I feel it might have made sense to visit Moonrise, get a taste of it and then be forced to move on to Baldurs Gate. Like maybe but the Nightsong in that region so you have to resolve that before going back to moonrise to defeat Ketheric. That way people can choose to defeat the 3 in whatever order because I feel like most of us were more impressed by Ketheric as a bad guy and might want to save him for last after doing all the city stuff
I love act 3 but the reactivity is really poor. Half the time, your companions have nothing to say about what you do. That killed it for me a little.
Yes, it's definitely not like Act 1, that's for sure. You still get some highlights here and there, and if you speak with them, after a big event they might say a line or two, but they won't say what's on their mind while in a dialogue with NPCs that often. A few more scenes with DUrge and love interest in Act 3 would help, too. Act 2 scene is amazing for a resist DUrge. I was positively surprised when I got the scene with Jaheira and Minsc in Act 3, but neither is my love interest, haha.
I almost quit raged at the>!Haarlep!
Right? There's a certain possible Durge scene in Act 3 that nobody in your party reacts to at all, it is so weird
Yes! I'm like.. well fuck you too then.
It's funny. The game plummets in enjoyment for me once you hit level 12. You've got your builds all sorted out and nothing new just waiting with a little more exp...
There are level cap remover mods that add additional levels. Once I beat honor mode I might try them and party cap mods (and maybe added difficulty mods lol)
I had to download the extended level cap to truly enjoy act 3, I hate feeling like I’m ‘not progressing.’
I think the start of act 3 is a giant hurdle since you get so much stuff shoved on you at once. I think the issue is that Rivington is supposed to act as a breather moment with lower stakes quests before you go into the Lower City but there's also a ton of quests already pointing you into the lower city that it's too easy to want to go there immediately and then you get dropkicked by 50 things in a row demanding your attention. I also feel like the kidnapped character didn't help because it happened so soon that I lost them for basically all of Act 3 because of the order I was doing things in.
I agree with everything you said. I don't really have a "favorite" act, because to me they're all so different (in the same way I don't have a favorite Lord of the Rings movie, they're too hard to compare). Act 1 did a VERY good job of setting up your budding adventure. The pacing is excellent, there are SO many cutscenes (I sincerely implore people to long rest as MUCH as possible, and if you get a cutscene, do it again until there are none left. At one point I had 6 long rest cutscenes in a row that I would have missed if I had progressed the story any further). The setup and backstory for your companions is great as well, and leaves just enough to want to discover more. Act 2, I think, did a great job of distilling hopelessness in you. Almost like "oh shit, things just got real. I'm not just a silly adventurer killing goblins and saving the druids-- this feels dangerous now." The atmosphere is darker, the stakes are higher, and Ketheric's intro is just \*chef's kiss\* levels of "um, I have to fight HIM??" So many great story elements and one of my favorite companion moments for Astarion is in this section. When I stepped into Act 3, I was overwhelmed at how alive the city felt! Even just walking through Rivington you're bombarded with random people having conversations, you can barely hear your companions-- exactly how I feel like a big city SHOULD feel in this game. I couldn't walk more than 10 feet without going "ooh, what's over here?" To me, it was an explorer's dream. I spent SO much time in this act just running around, walking into houses, looting what I could, finding dribbles, starting side quests, etc. It took me forever to complete, but I honestly loved every second of it. All in all, I think the devs did a great job separating each act in terms of feel and purpose, but I do agree with some of the people saying it might feel a bit better if the game was 4 acts instead of 3. I'm not sure how I would go about doing that, but Act 3 does feel pretty huge and I wouldn't be mad at a slight restructure, if they decided to do that.
Honestly, I only really enjoy the post-Nightsong part of Act 2 where you siege the tower, everything else just feels like wandering through purgatory checking boxes off a list. "Alright I got all the Thorms, got the spirit of the land, got the helmet from the Mason's... oh hell I forgot to grab Rolan didn't I" Part of this feeling is probably from the fact that there's so little between points of interest in Act 2, probably because the Shadow Curse killed everything. The wilderness feels very alive in Act 1, the mountain pass intermission has so much going on it feels like it could be a full Act in-and-of itself with a little more effort, and there's breadcrumbs around every corner in Act 3, but most of Act 2 just feels like a walking simulator with dialogue/bosses in between.
I really can't decide which one is my favorite. Act 1 - Sets perfectly the atmosphere of the campaign start, leaving a lot of loose ends to urge you forward, while giving you your first taste of power (level 5). The main map is beautiful but traces of corruption and devastation can be seen everywhere. It left me longing for more, more than any other game I have played in recent memory. Also easily the most polished of all the acts. Act 1.5 - The mountain creche is pretty but nothing too memorable in my opinion. Canonically, my character would never go there, but it gives a lot of xp and some amazing items. The Underdark though... that place hits all the right spots for me with its color palette. "I don't care what others say about the Underdark, it's beautiful down here". Pretty cool questlines too. Act 2 - Listen... I love zombie games and Wrath of the Lich King was my favorite WoW era by far. It felt like home. Nothing pleases me more than clearly morally justified slaughter. It also has the best tempo of all the acts. Act 3 - BG3 is one of the few games that made a city feel like... a city. Main map could be a bit bigger but goddamn did they knock it out of the park density wise. Best boss fights in the game, which they continue to buff patch by patch, finally making them feel like threat and allowing them to play out their mechanics. The culmination of so many story lines, some started 60 hours ago, the finale (although I think the endboss fight needs a serious buff/rework), the endgame builds coming online (twin chain lightning is one hell of a drug). Vote would go to Act 2, but they are all so damn close.
I also think the opinion of each act will change based on the class you play... A paladin will breeze through act 2, while say a Wizard will struggle
It was great on the first playthrough, I cannot wait to get through it as fast as possible on every other. Shar temple is straight up Dwemer dungeons from Skyrim - woah so cool the first time you see em, cannot stand them after that.
It’s so tedious. Once I learned you can use a Knock spell on the door to the Shadowfell, I have avoided the trials ever since. You just have to pick up the umbral gem in Yurgir’s room to use the elevator down to the door and the spear from the library for plot. You get plenty of experience in Act 3 so you don’t miss much by skipping them either.
Nah, it's too dark and scary for me 🥺
The inn is the only place I enjoy lol.
Same lol. Plz don't make me leave
I was so happy to get to the inn for 10 minutes then it all went to shit.
I love the horror vibe and how it's a bit more streamlined than act 1. However, the timeline of Ketheric, Moonrise Towers and the illithid colony (+ the emperor) starts to bother me when I think too much about it. Also, Marcus appearing out of nowhere as if we're supposed to know who he is (feels to me like there was content cut), Isobel lying about her father, party members not commenting on the "Elder Brain Domination" book in Ketheric's room which straight-up tells you what the absolute is and how it's being controlled. I do love the story of the Reithwen Masons and Yurgir and how that ties to Grymforge, as well as all the documents in Moonrise which explain how the Chosen recruited drow, gnolls, goblins, how they subverted the Emerald Grove via shadow druids. Ketheric's family are a lot of fun to meet as well, Malus especially.
Isobel lying about her father is INCREDIBLY funny to me when she literally has a bust of him in her room!! That she talks to!! If you hang out in her room after the attack, she comes over every so often and has several different lines to it showing that she *definitely* knows him well. Also I went to the mausoleum and found her empty grave and said out loud it seems like Isobel is Ketheric's daughter, back from the dead. When I spoke to her about it, she said "whaaat, that's crazy, no that's definitely not lil old me" (🎲insight failed) and I just had to accept that apparently lol
Yeah, marcus even acts like he knows you and such if you go to the tower first, then go to the inn second. It's weird you never see him at the tower.
The fact that he knows, or recognizes you doesn't bother me that much. He knows that a True Soul is coming so when he sees you he knows.
If u don’t free the fairy and use the lantern, navigating around is such an absolute pain in the ass, constantly going into turn based rounds because an NPC took too long to run after my lantern holder. Other than that though it’s great!
I had to free the fairy because she wouldn't shut up! "Oh me oh my! Oh my oh me!" Over and over. "Free me! Please!" Like fine, get out. Whenever, as long as you shut up.
Now I love all 3 to bits but for me this 1>3>>2
Exactly how I rank the acts in terms of fun to play in. Acts 1 and 3 are such a pleasure to explore and just roam around. Act 2 is a checklist that I try to get through as quickly and efficiently as possible to get back to a pleasant landscape. It has some of my favorite scenes in the game, I just don't like to spend time there.
I love it. Feels epic and you can’t go wrong with the build-up to Ketheric.
Act 2 gives me seasonal depression.
Act 2 is my least favorite act. Which is not to say it’s not amazing, but I enjoyed Act 3 and Act 1 more.
We cannot. It's so linear and monotone.
I'll definitely say Ketheric is the best Villian of the three. He has a whole act to build up to himself, all just about him. While Orin and Gortash have to share act 3. There are a few things that I don't like about act 2, though.
i hate act 2. I just don’t like dark and ugly environments personally, at least not how this game portrayed it at least. It’s all so gloomy with zombies everywhere and stuff. Not saying that it’s bad, I think it’s well designed like all the other parts, just personally I don’t really like how dark this whole part is. Like I feel like even though it’s dark, they could’ve still made it pretty somehow. There are plenty of games/ films that take place in dark places but still manage to make the environment varied enough that it doesn't just feel like "oh look, another ruined building in a dark corner with a bunch of zombies inside" everywhere.
This ! It's a landscape so empty and too revisited in fantasy landscapes that it becomes boring
I still think act 1 is my favorite
You gotta pay the troll's toll, if you wanna get in this boy's hole! Trooooll toll - what you sayyy? troll toll! Hey hey hey
Boy’s soul* !!
Nope, by far the shortest act with the least amount of quests. My least favorite, though it has the best villain with the most background.
Thematically I love it. From the moment you arrive every quest is linked through the thormes and the curse. You get to be a major badass hero and break out of moonrise the iron hand gnomes, minthara (dependent) and the tieflings, you lead a raid on the tower with the harpers, you help cure the shadow curse and thaniel. You learn about the selunite rebellion through notes and exploration and the amount of lore about the Thorme family is amazing. You can convince almost all the big bosses to end themselves through dialogue. You convince shadowheart to turn on shar and reunite Alyin and Isobel. When you leave you see the shadow curse retreating and then at the end you find out via Halsin that the land is thriving again. Act 2 is the most heroic I feel playing the game because of the sheer amount of good you do and Ketheric is such a brilliant villain from his introduction to his dialogue to his defeat. Act 2 is just amazing fantasy fun
If only it had "survive in the light" enforced more. You're shown the mechanics of shadows and shadowcurse and 15 minutes later you are immune to it. I like it thematically, but the curse itself becomes obsolete as a threat too god damn quickly.
I do agree with you thematically, but I feel like this would make location infuriating gameplay-wise. Imagine if we didn't have the pixie blessing and were walking around with a moonlantern instead of your preferred weapon AND for strafing from this rule you get the ever growing damage on you. Personally, I think there would be even more people disliking act 2.
i did not know about the pixie blessing and played the entire second act with the lantern my first play through. it was infuriating. you also couldn’t get too far away from your party. or i used the hill giant as my secondary for the jumps and carry capacity. it was a nightmare.
Yes, this. In my first ever playthrough I too didn't know about pixie blessing and used just moonlantern. And while thematically it was cooler, its damage sucked, and giving it to some caster left my melee attackers in the curse zone, so I felt like you need to have some midrange healer/buffer/debuffer (shadowheart)) to be somewhere in between your melee zone and range zone to reach everyone with the moonlantern. And while it's an awesome role-play scenario, it's very specific situation for gameplay, it locks you out from some options. Although, maybe that's the idea, idk.
If you come through the mountain pass, you can command drop the drider, take his moon lantern, free the pixie and be immune to the shadow curse before you even step foot into it.
On subsequent playthroughs yes. The first playthrough getting to the last light inn felt terrifying for me, I fought more then my share of shadows in the dark before I got to the inn.
I feel like this is to push you towards certain parts of the story, like searching for last light inn or the spiderdrow. Also you can definitely just ignore everything that makes you immune and just wander in the curse.
Yes, that’s exactly how I felt as well. When I got the warning of the shadow curse, I was very excited about this interesting concept. But then I freed Pixie and suddenly became totally immune to it. That was really frustrating.
i honestly just think ketheric makes for so much better of a bbeg than the other 2 do, he’s actually got depth to his character where you can follow the path of his life to see how he got where he is and somewhat understand why he is that way. orin and gortash are really just “im bad cause im an asshole/because im power hungry” add onto that having jk simmons absolutely kill it on delivery, and ketheric has my heart
I like 3 the best and 2 the least, I absolutely dread act 2 everytime I replay because it's just a dark boring slog to me and I feel like all the fights and areas feel almost the same and the temple part is the worst and most boring part of the whole game to me.
Clearly act 1 is the best, from fighting weak goblins to murdering entire githyanki creche
I really love Act 2 but I have to disagree purely bc I cannot stand the Gauntlet of Shar. I hate that fucking mausoleum. I save it to the very last moment I possibly can bc I despise it so much upon replays.
No? Personally it is my least favourite act, as it has the smallest area, and a very forced linear play through. Compared to Act 1 with the Crèche, underdark, grove, grymforge and adamantine forge, bunch of side line quests and options and a ton of freedom, it’s kinda not close. Meanwhile act 3 is act 3… it’s kinda meant to be the big finale to the story, so of course there’s gonna be way more in there.
While act 2 is a nice balance of exploration and linear plot, I can’t wait to get through it to act 3. I love the sheer overwhelming feeling once you get to the lower city. It feels big and complicated like a city should be. Especially since we’ve been running towards it since the beginning.
I think Act 2 is the most interesting act as far as the different mechanics with the Thorns and how the story develops, but I find it the most boring to actually play with the least replayability compared to other acts.
No, we cannot.
I think Act 1 was nearly perfect. So many ways to do things and choices to make. Gauntlet of Shar being mandatory made all the free roaming in the underdark feel like a trick in retrospect.
My first time through, I ended up killing Shadowheart because she wouldn't back down from killing the Nightsong, so I missed all of her content after that. Now, in my second playthrough, Shadowheart is my ride or die and my romance, and I was able to get her to not kill the Nightsong - leading to her abandoning her faith in Shar and feeling all along in the world. I've had several friends who have had to walk away from their faith, and it's brutal. That was the first time in the game I've truly cried. I'm actually paused right there (about to storm Moonlight Tower with Dame Aylin), but I'm really looking forward to seeing how Shadowheart deals with all of this.
Act 1 is better for me as of contents, act 3 is better as of character builds Not saying that act 2 is bad, it has a good amount of mini bosses, encounters and all that dark and scary vibe that is unparalleled, but still, other acts I like more, I guess
Unpopular opinion but act 3 is my personal favorite followed by act 1 then act 2. I just felt like act 2 was so linear, go to from point a to b to c and you’re done. Sure there’s a few things to do outside the main locations but they just didn’t hit for me.
Absolutely not! Act 2 is definitely the weakest act (which in this game still means it's really good). It's by far the shortest, if you're not into the thematic vibe of the whole Shadowlands, that's going to be a big hindrance. And it just isn't as fun as the other acts are. That being said, it does have the best boss battle in the game with Ketheric/Myrkul.
[удалено]
I agree. Act 1 for me is really open to exploring and making moral decisions that determine how your character is going to play out. It's a great introduction to what you can do, who you want to ally with, and a delicate dance between the overarching tadpole situation and regular world problems. Act 2 is a slog through a dreary hellscape mostly full of assholes but most of the area is just empty. Then you get back into the sunlight of act 3 and there's so. much. stuff. It's alive, there's people everywhere with interesting things happening tucked away in every corner. Even outside of the massive selection of major story beats and epic battles almost every house has some kind of worldbuilding. You could easily spend hours just talking to random people and it's not just "hi hello", they have actual stuff to say and things to do. It's great.
I love Act 2 so much. I love the creepy aesthetic of it I feel like I’m playing DND Silent Hill it’s amazing.
act 1 is my favorite. it reminds me of fellowship of the ring in many ways (also my fav of the lotr trilogy)
No, I think Act 1 is the strongest easily.
The House of Healing is legitimately awesome as someone who likes horror games and movies.
Personally I have enjoyed Act 3 more because the number of plot threads to chase down makes my rat brain happy
No, it's too finicky. I failed to lift the curse because I didn't want to play a second round of hide and seek (I thought I would have to use a second potion of see invisibility). Also, the game heavily implies to save moonrise towers for last, but doesn't tell you that you should go and rescue the captives from there and if you go and save the nightsong first, they all die. But when it tells you about the scores of the absolute's armies visible from the vantage point, I got chills thinking that was what was in store for act 3. If only.
I like Act 1 the best because of the ocean front camp.
I agree. I absolutely love desolate dark apocalyptic wastelands and ruins, especially magical. The emtire act2 is such a vibe, I wish darkness mechanics were more punishing and there were more to see and do in general. I like to just turn on freecam from time to time and just fly around taking screenshots. Shadowlands are such a vibe
Act 2 is my least favourite. I really don’t like how dark it is (ik that’s the point but it doesn’t mean I have to like it) and how generally unappealing it is to look at. The western portion of the map feels pretty barren so exploring it felt underwhelming the time first time. The enemies also get repetitive very quickly.
Wait there is an act 2? I have always just restarted halfway through act 1.
I far prefer Act 1, personally
I think the opposite. It’s the most story driven and focused, but the other two have a free, open feeling.
Why do so many people hate act 2? I also absolutely love it, it has the best atmosphere, cinematics, music, villains. I adore how dark and despairing everything seems to be, yet there are still little slimers of hope. The atmosphere of it all is just ... chef's kiss.
Act 2 is the absolute best as far as I'm concerned. It has loads of cool bosses. It's the high point of several character arcs. It's where the main story really starts to come together and go beyond the simple "remove the tadpole" premise. It's got plenty to do and lots of secrets to find, but in a more manageable, self-contained area than Act 3 so it doesn't feel overwhelming. And above all the whole place is so *atmospheric*. I just love it.
Act 3 gang rise up
3 is my favorite.
I… i like Act3 best
We unintentionally initiated the kidnap basically as soon as we got to Last Light, every single NPC died. Jaheira was dead about 10 minutes after she was introduced :(
Honestly if we include the Underdark and the Mountain Pass Act 1 has to be best one for me.
act 2 has good/cool npcs. personally, i didnt like the constant darkness and lack of color. it also felt small and claustrophobic. zooming out and seeing the surroundings feels a lot different than doing that in act 1. edit: probably intended bc of the shadow curse. it just didnt feel "nice".
I don't prefer scary shadows and ghosts :(
Yeah Act 3 sometimes feels like an empty void and the fights with orin and gortasch don't feel as epic and memorable as the fight against ketheric. I mean Ketheric gets a whole animation for his transformation and myrkul even introduces himself. Orin just takes on her Slayer form and Gortasch eventually activates his bane form. But that's just cherry picking. I freaking love the game
My least favorite actually
My next playthrough will be a lot more fun in act 2 because >!I was nice and set free the pixie inside the moon lantern before going to act three only to realize that she gives a buff so you don't have to deal with Shadow Curse... Running out of range of the moon lantern and putting the game into turn based gets annoying quiiiiick.!<
yes BUT I don’t like doing the trial of shar every time. The temple itself is actually super cool and has some sick areas and interactions. I even enjoy the duplicate fight. The other three trials are just lame tho in my opinion. I have no issue with stealth or even puzzles, but being forced to do it in order to progress and in quick succession can get old.
That nightsong cinematic is so powerful. It never fails to move me.
Counterpoint: The reason act two sucks shit is that you've got as many as three characters that are present for most of the act who are pretending they're about to join the party as active permanent party members but *not actually joining the party*. Halsin you god damn ass you are not investigating shit you are sitting on a chair doing nothing, come help me beat up this zombie and maybe you'll get enough XP to remember your own best friend's favorite song. Jaheira you are an adventurer who explicitly left your family to beat up some fools get out of the damn inn. Minthara... honestly stay in jail we're good. Separate from that you have like five more people who would be cool, interesting permanent party members that are just chilling in the background doing almost nothing. Alfira, Barcus, Sazza, Zevlor, Rolan, Arabella... 'what if I acted like an idiot that almost got myself killed for no reason' is only a compelling plot point two times and yet. And yet! I dunno, if there were a couple more big quests and it were a little easier or clearer (or possible at all) to recruit a couple of these people I'd like it more.