Did anyone else grow to despise the game come Act 3?

[Goatmanpig]

The quality drop off of in content is immense, Act 1 is pretty good with the pacing a bit odd but satisfying, Act 2 is still pretty good with some questionable decisions but still holding up well enough and the ending to act 2 is amazing. Then we get to act 3, almost everything is a 15 or higher check out of the blue and even with Karmic Dice the failures are more common than successes resulting in less than desirable outcomes (even with character with high bonuses to those checks) and the increased desire to save scum (Act 2 only has a few high checks for comparison), combat encounters are more annoying (not difficult) than anything with almost every encounter having some weird gimmick that results in one or more of your party members being instantly dead or unusable (every time I saw maimed, stunning gaze, or invisibility I just rolled my eyes), story/dialogue encounters just being poorly paced and buggy, and finally a lackluster ending regardless of which you get (I've looked up all of them).

For me I went from enjoying a solid 8/9 out of 10 game to wanting to shelf it and be done with it. Personally I'd rank the game a solid 8/9 out of 10 for the first two acts and a 6 out of 10 for the third and final act potentially even lower if they don't the bugs in it.

[McReesington]

Originally posted by Revan619:

The "cOmPlEtE gEaM" reviews have definitely become a meme of people that have not finished act 1

The thing is everybody who has played any of Larian's previous games could see this coming, and yet not one reviewer offered any caution as they judged the whole game on just the intro area which was polished in early access for like 3 years.

At this point it seems intentional since they've made no efforts to break the cycle, just polish and perfect the opening for perfect reviews and maximum hype, and put a fraction of the effort into the latter parts and essentially just have some more content after it to claim it's a full game. After they had to completely redo the endings of their last two tentpole games after the exciting openings should have given some journalists reason to pause for thought.

[Jon]

Originally posted by McReesington:

Originally posted by Revan619:

The "cOmPlEtE gEaM" reviews have definitely become a meme of people that have not finished act 1

The thing is everybody who has played any of Larian's previous games could see this coming, and yet not one reviewer offered any caution as they judged the whole game on just the intro area which was polished in early access for like 3 years.

At this point it seems intentional since they've made no efforts to break the cycle, just polish and perfect the opening for perfect reviews and maximum hype, and put a fraction of the effort into the latter parts and essentially just have some more content after it to claim it's a full game. After they had to completely redo the endings of their last two tentpole games after the exciting openings should have given some journalists reason to pause for thought.

This, a 100%, it is actually insane how far some people go to pretend otherwise.

[r0n1n]

Welcome to CRPGs.

The Definitive Edition will be the edition to play for the best experience.

[FredDie]

It happend mid act 2 for me.

[Purpleetea]

Originally posted by Jon:

Pretty much, just loved act1 and enjoyed act2. Got such horrible dos2 vibes from Act3, like literal flashbacks of playing it, whole vibe for the game died.

Havent played first days in DOS2 when it was released. What was missing back then in DOS2? I heard last act also was lackluster?

[Jon]

Originally posted by Geist:

Originally posted by Jon:

This, a 100%, it is actually insane how far some people go to pretend otherwise.

This is a thing since early gaming days. Most people do not finish games, so developer put the most efford into the games beginning and the contend falls off later. Which initiates a egg/hen cycle because then even more people don't finish it reaffirming the developer that it was the correct decision. But thats nothing Larian or this game specific. Its sad but it has always been like this.

It is VERY Larian specific. Name another company that sells EA to a part of their game as they develop it. Specifically not adding more content as it is "ready", like other EA titles.

[Jon]

Originally posted by Purpleetea:

Originally posted by Jon:

Pretty much, just loved act1 and enjoyed act2. Got such horrible dos2 vibes from Act3, like literal flashbacks of playing it, whole vibe for the game died.

Havent played first days in DOS2 when it was released. What was missing back then in DOS2? I heard last act also was lackluster?

Literally the same thing as BG3, lots of cut content, unfinished areas, the literal same.

[wei270]

Originally posted by GrandMajora:

Originally posted by Kaeptn Bleibaer:

Having someone multiclass to bard in your group also gives you up to a 1d8 bonus on every roll, and you can stack those with multiple bards and the clerics roll bonus. In act 3 I regularly roll over 30s

When breaking into the bank vaults, I rolled a natural 20 on the 99 DC.

It was glorious; and if I wasn't in the mood to pull off a bank heist before, I certainly was afterward!

wait a min where is the 99DC valut? the one minsc robbed?

and guys yes content gets cut when ideas are drop, but do you know content gets cut when they couldn't finish their games too. don't just try to argue ho no, no content is cause they couldn't finish the game, the only content that was cut were only things they don't want to add. for those that believe this is a 100% finished game as intended , sure we can prove to you that larian did not indeed finish the game. but since when will you have a 100 proof of anything, people are denying global warming even today. and even when they burn to death as the tempure raise they will still find ways to deny it. don't be those people.

[Jon]

Originally posted by wei270:

Originally posted by GrandMajora:

When breaking into the bank vaults, I rolled a natural 20 on the 99 DC.

It was glorious; and if I wasn't in the mood to pull off a bank heist before, I certainly was afterward!

wait a min where is the 99DC valut? the one minsc robbed?

Yeah, the one you open with the key from the banker, pickpocketed or rewarded.

[Runic Tunic]

Didn't despise it, no. In fact, Act 3, imo, has some of the best, and worst parts of the game. Some of the quests, though a bit disjointed, were very good (companion quests were all really great).

But the level of things being disjointed and less fleshed out? Plus the ending? Yeah I can totally see that being a bit disappointing. I'm just glad they're putting in the extended endings, and *hopefully* they'll add more. Regardless of what we think regarding the "Upper City cut content" issue, I'm hoping Larian will expand and flesh out Act 3 in some way regardless.

[KingKickAss]

I just got into act 3 so I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but I completely felt a dip during the transition to act 3. Prior to that, I was completely hooked and had binged the game more or less, now all that motivation has vanished. It feels really... cheap(?) and rushed. The buildup through act 1 and 2 was good, then at the climax its like an entirely different writer took over. You beat the guy who had his buildup, and then you're introduced to these other bad guys who are in your face constantly as if the writers/devs are really trying to get the player to be invested in the new development.

Seriously. The moment I clicked to head to Baldur's Gate, I suddenly stopped caring and being invested. Which is funny because the game is called "Baldur's Gate" and its where every NPC in the game wants to go to.

[cl656]

Originally posted by Kaeptn Bleibaer:

Originally posted by WeirdWizardDave:

Did they? That is one of the things that I keep seeing claimed. Yet no one has been able to produce anything other than an article by a journalist in what that is stated but not as a quote from a dev.

The question of the upper city is also addressed in the community post and again, explicitly denied that the upper city was intended to be an exploitable region like the lower city and instead was always meant to be the epic stage for the finale (which it is).

This is the problem with just believing stuff you read online. People come to their own conclusions based on their own imagination and speculation. Post it as fact which other people read and take as fact themselves and pretty soon people are talking greedy devs cutting a whole region last minute and breaking the end of the game.

Look at above posting and you can see their own announcement.
You can't tell me that with "exploring the opulent estates of the upper city" they meant walking through it's rubbles. There is nothing to explore.

I also want to note that there are signs in the game the upper city was cut as well. like at the very end of the quest where you stop the Bhaal assassin, you have a conversation with the flaming Fist knome, and she talks about how she is going to the upper city, and the conversation you have with her abruptly ends mid conversion.

[I'm A Distraction!]

There was only two parts of Act III that was truly infuriating for me.

The damned buggy poltergiests which CONSTANTLY save vs. see invisibility so you spend half an hour hunting down ONE GHOST.

And the rail road ending forcing you into a horrible sacrifice via contrived excuses, even when one of your companions presents A MUCH BETTER alternative to you.

[Das_Daw]

My main issue with act 3 is that the boss battles are way too easy even on tactician difficulty. I don't say that to brag, but all boss battles are way easier than random encounters in the first act. The bosses are not protected against simple mechanics, so its just ridiculous. Just some examples (spoilers ahead):

-The boss battle against Rafael is staged epically, however the antagonist is a total push over. The "hold monster?" scroll worked on him and he was stunned for 4 turns and I could just chissel him down
- Cardazon Szaar or what's the vampire's name can just be pushed down into the chasm. boom, bossfight over.
- Lord Gortash could be telekenised, disarmed and after his shield was down was a total push over
- Orin was ridiculously easy, because the character is only protected by unstoppable 10 which means that a Magic Missile rank 6 takes away 8/10 of her unstoppable shield points. So just two more hits and the rest of the party was able to just slice through a boss with a meager ~247 HP or something like that

So all in all the epic boss battles the game builds towards were underwhelming. Also the collection quest find dribbles body parts which requires you to explore a lot and advance in the main quest quite a bit rewards a meager pair of rare gloves - something that didn't remotely feel adequate at that point in the game.

Also when you play as an evil character like me you will encounter some weird storytelling, because some mcguffins were apparently written for "good characters" but there is no alternative story driving element for you For example: The little girl you encounter at the beginning of Act 3. I repeatedly tried to push her out of my camp, was rude and cruel, but she always returned after she left. I thought that to be really annoying. But that girl is a story mcguffin for your encounter with orin who wants to sacrifice her to Baal. After you arrive, Orin says "ahhh you came to rescue the girl" - and I never gave the game any indication that I cared for the girl at all. Not before or after Orin impersonated her. So for a bad character not caring it is really weird that orin assumes I would seek her out to rescue some girl and not - as established with her before - to take her mindstone

Still enjoyed the game immensly, but I cannot deny that Act 3 did not live up to my expectations concerning difficulty in major story battles and recognizing that certain elements of the story give you an illussion of choice, but in the end the story elements are forced donw your throat no matter your choices. (I recognize the latter is probably inevitable in a complex game like this, still something that fell a bit short)

[Recjawjind]

Yes act 3 is weaker, no doubt
I still love 95% of the game with all my heart, and 5% with half my heart.
One rough patch does not make a game bad.
Though Larians working on it.