New to D&D world, First BG 3 playthrough Help?

[Zeus]

Hey there ladies and Gents, recently got a spark of interest to trying this game out with Zer0 knowledge of the world of Dungeons and Dragons and Baldur's Gate. I started a CoOp play through last night and quickly decided to try a Solo playthrough due to me not really enjoying learning and listening to what to do by my party.

I was reaching out to see if that would be the wise decision...? i felt like i wasn't really getting that thrill factor of learning something new because i was being told what to do on every attack/turn ect ect.

Anywho, I think going to start a solo run but with no knowledge of the world again.. i was hoping to get help/inout on what difficulty would be best. I'm leaning to more towards Explorer or Balance. Any thoughts? i do love story games so that's why. THANK YOU in advance on anyone that comments

[Maraxus]

I feel unless you play with others of your similar knowledge level it's probably more enjoyable to play solo the first time so you can go at your own pace 100%. Start with Balanced and if you are finding the game too hard you can always drop down to Explorer.

[Ironwu]

Here are my basic tips for New Players:

* Play on Explorer mode. You can always switch to a higher difficulty if it is to 'easy'. :)

* After playing for a couple of hours, START OVER. Things will go SO much more smoothly now that you know some of the basics of strategy and tactics.

* Prepare a balanced party FIRST before you go into major combat. Here are the Companions you should recruit first. Explore around in order to find them. They take little or no combat to get:

- Lae'zel Fighter
- Gale Wizard
- Astarion Rogue
- Shadowheart Cleric

* You should select one of those above roles for your character (I recommend Wizard). Then when you reach the final Companion to recruit (you can only have 4 in the party) send the duplicate to camp and recruit the final one.

* When you have Withers in camp and the gold, respec your characters specializations:
- Fighter to Battle Master
- Rogue to Thief
- Cleric to Light
- Wizard to Evocation School
Whichever you choose for your class, start that way.

* For your FIRST Feat, take 'Alert'. Yes, other folks might recommend Ability or some other one, but it is a total game changer to be able to act FIRST every single time.

* Don't jump into major fights early in the game. You want have a full setup before going hard in the game. EXPLORE. You get EXP for exploring. Talk to everyone. Read every book. Take what you can (but don't steal RED stuff) and send it to camp to sell when you reach a vendor.

* Quicksave often. Watch out for when the game Autosaves on its own. That means there is probably something important coming soon. Like a big fight. I have my Quicksaves and Autosaves limited to 3 each. I Manual Save at important points, like after a big fight or right before a major area.

* Make sure you are using Armor and Weapons you are Proficient in. Otherwise, severe penalties are applied!

Have Fun and don't sweat the small stuff!

Good Luck

[Wokelander]

Explorer seems too easy but then again, I have like 30 years of experience with D&D and tactical computer games so I may be an outlier.
I definitely think you're making the right choice by not being "alpha-gamed" through the game by someone with too much experience, it's a lot more fun to learn on your own

[アンジェル]

Originally posted by Zeus:

New to D&D world, First BG 3 playthrough Help?
Hey there ladies and Gents, recently got a spark of interest to trying this game out with Zer0 knowledge of the world of Dungeons and Dragons and Baldur's Gate. I started a CoOp play through last night and quickly decided to try a Solo playthrough due to me not really enjoying learning and listening to what to do by my party.

I was reaching out to see if that would be the wise decision...? i felt like i wasn't really getting that thrill factor of learning something new because i was being told what to do on every attack/turn ect ect.

Anywho, I think going to start a solo run but with no knowledge of the world again.. i was hoping to get help/inout on what difficulty would be best. I'm leaning to more towards Explorer or Balance. Any thoughts? i do love story games so that's why. THANK YOU in advance on anyone that comments

A very wise decision. If your party fails with the mentoring, then you are in danger not to enjoy the game at all to the very end. That is on them, as such situation would make them lose out on you - a good party member.

I recommend to start with balanced, as that is the intended way to play, including all the challenges as they are as intended. The main reasoning for that lies in the fact that the game is not as interesting as it could be if there is no challenge at all. Plus the fact that you actually can reduce difficulty anytime makes it quite comfortable for trying out without any actual risk.

Losing/failing is part of the learning process and therefore also part of the fun. Do never underestimate that factor.

Have some tips to get started
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3107682627
I will soon start on a guide to explain how to multiclass. Not sure if that is of interest for you. Feel free to ask any "newbie questions" which might come across your adventure. And most important: have fun! Happy adventuring!

[Taifun_Vash]

I think you will get more out of a solo play, I know it of other games and how some are rushing through parts of the story especially if they're familiar with the story or mechanics. I recommend the balance difficulty and that you take your time to explore and learn it slowly.

[アンジェル]

I do not think you get less from multiplayer. But that depends heavily on the party. Ideal is the situation when all players are equally invested, commited and new to the game. The feeling of exploring and discovering stuff together is awesome and something Baldur's Gate 3 can indeed provide. Not as good as Divinity: Original Sin, but sill great enough that it made it for the video game awards.

[Wokelander]

A lot of people suggest you should have a "default party" of Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, Wizard but in my opinion you can drop the Wizard easily, and even the Cleric if you're feeling bold.
Having at least 2 characters who won't crumple if they get engaged in melee is pretty much a must though

[SirBlackalot]

Originally posted by アンジェル:

I do not think you get less from multiplayer. But that depends heavily on the party. Ideal is the situation when all players are equally invested, commited and new to the game. The feeling of exploring and discovering stuff together is awesome and something Baldur's Gate 3 can indeed provide. Not as good as Divinity: Original Sin, but sill great enough that it made it for the video game awards.

I agree. I've played with first timers and I've let them do all the decisions and basically acted as NPC because I don't want to take away from their experience which this game is all about.

[Wokelander]

Most people in a multiplayer game who already played it will be absolutely awful in their eagerness to show and tell a newbie all the amazing things they discovered themselves, completely ruining the experience, in my experience anyway

[Deleted *******]

Originally posted by Zeus:

Hey there ladies and Gents, recently got a spark of interest to trying this game out with Zer0 knowledge of the world of Dungeons and Dragons and Baldur's Gate. I started a CoOp play through last night and quickly decided to try a Solo playthrough due to me not really enjoying learning and listening to what to do by my party.

I was reaching out to see if that would be the wise decision...? i felt like i wasn't really getting that thrill factor of learning something new because i was being told what to do on every attack/turn ect ect.

Anywho, I think going to start a solo run but with no knowledge of the world again.. i was hoping to get help/inout on what difficulty would be best. I'm leaning to more towards Explorer or Balance. Any thoughts? i do love story games so that's why. THANK YOU in advance on anyone that comments

You know what depression is?

I decided to make a new playthrough, to try and get minthara as my companion for the first time.
On honor mode.
And like 50h in, after discovering every single corner, picking up every single item, even every plant. Finally reaching Moon Tower - i find out, that she does not appear for me there - because i have failed to do something that brings her there and lets you have her as companion.

about 50 hours waisted into nothing, since this is my 3-rd playthrough.

[Taifun_Vash]

Originally posted by Khorvale:

Most people in a multiplayer game who already played it will be absolutely awful in their eagerness to show and tell a newbie all the amazing things they discovered themselves, completely ruining the experience, in my experience anyway

Yes and they will recommend builds and so on, which doesn't let a new player experience it for themself.

[zombygunner]

Ive heard this game was one of the easiest to understand vs other games of the same type. That being said this game is a niche game. Most of the people who play this have some D&D expertise i would guess or have played several games like this. If you dont know D&D or other games based on the book you may be doomed to fail. For example i wont play owlcats new game rogue trader because i have no idea how the game is played because i never played the book table top version. So op i do get it and i would say dont buy it or watch yt videos. Its amazing once you learn it though because itll help you going forward playing the next game like this.

[アンジェル]

Originally posted by zombygunner:

Ive heard this game was one of the easiest to understand vs other games of the same type. That being said this game is a niche game. Most of the people who play this have some D&D expertise i would guess or have played several game like this. If you dont know D&D or other games based on the book you may be doomed to fail. For example i wont play owlcats new game rogue trader because i have no idea how the game is played because i never played the book table top version. So op i do get it and i would say dont buy it or watch yt videos. Its amazing once you learn it though because itll help you going forward playing the next game like this.

Incorrect.
Most players have with Baldur's Gate 3 in fact their first contact with Dungeons & Dragons.

[zombygunner]

Maybe.

[ChrisPharmD]

Originally posted by zombygunner:

Ive heard this game was one of the easiest to understand vs other games of the same type. That being said this game is a niche game. Most of the people who play this have some D&D expertise i would guess or have played several games like this. If you dont know D&D or other games based on the book you may be doomed to fail. For example i wont play owlcats new game rogue trader because i have no idea how the game is played because i never played the book table top version. So op i do get it and i would say dont buy it or watch yt videos. Its amazing once you learn it though because itll help you going forward playing the next game like this.

Well, it's the exact same as DOS1 and DOS2 so... it can't be the easiest to understand because those games came out over the last decade.