Developer Larian Studios released turn-based RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 to an incredibly welcoming reception of the community, so much so that the game has broken records the team didn’t even think about. As the adventurers are figuring their way through the Forgotten Realms and embedding themselves into the political struggles of Baldur’s Gate city, solo or in co-op, the discussion naturally moved to certain aspects of the title that could be otherwise improved.
While the vast majority of players agree that BG3 is a phenomenal D&D experience that many have wanted for the longest time, it can still be further improved. Below you can find a short wishlist for the full release version of the game based on our own impressions so far and on scouring various online communities.
Let us know in the comments below if you have anything to add.
Party Management
Needless to say that the game features extensive party management. Leveling up, swapping gear, changing active companions, chatting, etc. – Baldur’s Gate 3 features all of it and more. And it is completely not surprising that this is the area that players wish had more QoL-features. In particular, when it comes to sorting out your companions and their affairs in the camp.
At the moment, you only have access to the inventory of your already employed companions even though being at the camp could be a nice opportunity to check all of their gear at once and juggle consumables around. The same thing can be said about leveling up your currently benched companions.
Another thing that you have likely noticed if you have tried to pursue multiple companion quests or take care of leveling up/gearing your party: going through the song and dance of telling your currently employed party members to stay in the camp, getting new set of companions, tackling all their business and swapping back takes an extraordinary amount of time when added up. By the love of the Absolute, let us choose the active party when leaving camp.
The game intends for the active character to be the one doing all the checks, be it in-conversation with others or when interacting with the environment, even if the party has a better suited companion for a particular task. For example, Astarion and lockpicking vs a Human Fighter Tav. In other cRPGs like Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous or even Larian’s previous project Divinity: Original Sin 2, if your full party is selected and interacting with an object it will either automatically select the best-suited companion for the task or have them speak up and say they can do it better.
Same thing with various checks when interacting with items during a dialogue. Say the Human Warrior Tav from the previous example is checking out a rune somewhere with Gale in your active party. Why shouldn’t he be able to give a suggestion during the dialogue without having to restart anew? Not even counting the situations where such a thing is impossible since failing a roll means combat right off the bat.
Last but not least, summons. You can un-chain the rest of the party from your protagonist by pressing G if you intend to carefully sneak and pickpocket or maybe disarm some traps. But even that won’t stop your loyal summons from following.
TL/DR:
- Enhanced camp party management: access to all companions’ stats, level-up windows and inventories;
- A quicker way to swap active companions;
- Automatically using best follower to do a certain action or companions’ stats for checks (in certain situations);
- Better controls for summons.
Inventory enhancements
A story as old as time: RPG players and the wish for a more customizable inventory while they stuff everything that isn’t nailed down into their backpacks. I admit, I am guilty of that. Every game under the sun likely went through a similar dilemma, from Diablo to Pathfinder to D:OS2 and many in-between.
Among the biggest possible QoL additions would be gear comparison, better stacking of picked up items and easier split into stacks. The access to the full inventory of your entire party in the camp can be added here as well. Additionally, BG3 could use some extra sorting options and a way to perform bulk actions, be it swapping multiple items between your characters, sending them to camp or unloading at an unsuspecting vendor.
Character Customization & Visuals:
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a devastatingly beautiful game, both when it comes to characters and surroundings. All the more reasons why players should have an option to edit the appearance of their characters mid-game. Say you’ve noticed that your character’s beard clips through your favorite armor. Or you want to make Tav’s hair shorter or introduce some other changes like burns to signify some turn of the story.
Continuing with the vain streak, transmog and preview of what dye would look like before applying it. And, wrapping it up, official photo mode so you can screenshot the beauty and cruelty of the Forgotten Realms.
Additionally, it would help tremendously if the game would allow players to peek at the class abilities ahead of the time and plan out your leveling strategy.
Co-Op Enhancements:
Much like Divinity: Original Sin before it, Baldur’s Gate 3 offers something very unique: a deep, epic narrative that can be shared with others. However, when it comes to the actual narrative and character interactions, the game can be somewhat reluctant to let you share.
Similarly to DOS2, the player that initiated the conversation is the one who calls the shots, with the companions sometimes offering their extremely important opinions. The second (and onward) player can only stay a while and listen – or continue doing their dastardly deeds and run across the background of the conversation. The dialogue system is one of the few areas of the game that makes BG3 feel like a single-player RPG even if you are adventuring with your friends.
Bioware’s story-oriented MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic managed to solve the problem by adding a vote for a dialogue among party members so that the roll of the dice decides who continues the conversation onward and which way it will turn. Additionally, it would have been nice to have an option of having another player cast guidance during a skill check or otherwise interact with your game – with the possibility of it backfiring spectacularly, of course.
