Stealth breaks on cutscenes

[G3NTrovert]

Initially, I was immensely excited about Baldur's Gate 3, particularly because of its Game of the Year status and promises of D&D-like gameplay. However, my experience has been far from enjoyable, and I find myself increasingly frustrated with the game.

I've attempted numerous stealth approaches in the game, drawn in by the terrain features that seemingly encourage such tactics—elevation changes, exploitable items, and conspicuous chandeliers begging to be used to my advantage. Yet, each time I meticulously plan a stealthy infiltration, I'm abruptly thrust into a cutscene, even when I've managed to evade detection. This cutscene not only disrupts my carefully laid plans but inexplicably teleports my characters into the thick of it, giving the enemy the upper hand as they initiate combat and scatter from my intended ambush location. Consequently, I'm forced to wait out their turn before I can even attempt to salvage the situation, limiting my options and leaving me feeling disheartened.

I can't help but question certain design choices that exacerbate the frustration:

Why is the environmental turn timer divorced from the concurrent battle turn system? It's perplexing that I can maneuver my units stealthily without limit until they're detected or enter combat. Yet when I enter combat, I lose another turn, as they switch between these two turn systems.

What's the rationale behind teleporting hidden characters into cutscenes? It not only disrupts immersion but also undermines the very concept of stealth gameplay.

Moreover, the fact that hidden characters trigger these cutscenes despite being able to engage enemies from a distance suggests a lack of consistency in game mechanics. It's frustrating to encounter such disruptions, especially when alternatives like engaging enemies from afar are viable. And don't give me the "it is necessary for the story" excuse, as the ability to engage enemies from a distance implies that such interruptions could be avoided without sacrificing narrative coherence. If this wasn't intended, the option for stealth outside of combat should have been removed.

Why is it that if you kill another character instantly using spells like Thunderwave or by shoving them off a cliff, adjacent characters fail to initiate combat? It's evident they witnessed the act, yet they don't react accordingly. This inconsistency undermines the realism and immersion of the game, leaving players perplexed by the lack of response from nearby enemies.

Why does Darkvision, which allows characters to see in the dark up to 12 meters, affect their vision outside of their designated vision cone? It's illogical for characters to suddenly gain eyes in the back of their heads. This inconsistency undermines the realism of the game world and detracts from the immersion, making it difficult for players to suspend disbelief.

The promise of playing the game according to one's preferences feels hollow when confronted with such jarring discrepancies in the stealth mechanics. As a result, what should have been an immersive and customizable experience has instead left me disillusioned and dissatisfied.

[Scheneighnay]

Not reading all that ♥♥♥♥, but yes stealth is broken in 20 different ways to be underpowered.

My biggest complaint about stealth is still when patrolling guards ignore turn based mode.

[Hexoplex]

Too darn early for novels, you got a td;lr version?

[Mojo]

Well considering you only have 19ish hours of playtime you are more than likely still getting used to the play style. However yes stealth can be a pain.

[Mike Garrison]

It's not really a stealth game. But there are plenty of those available, if you want one.

[artemisone]

I love the game, but Stealth is broken to the point of being either OP or irrelevant depending on the situation, Apparently it was the same for DOS-2, so its a feature, not a bug.
For example, it is possible to play an entire battle without entering combat. It's easy for certain stealth archer characters to do that, or to enter and leave combat at will. The enemies never get a turn. This is due to LOS, limited vision, and stealth/invis mechanics.
In my opinion if you can shoot a character that should trigger combat for the whole party, no matter what.
On the other hand, the game has negative effects on characters that do not enter combate when another one does. You can bless or haste your whole team in turn-based to prepare for combat, and if one gets pulled into combat, but not the others, the others drop out of turn based mode, and you lose any turn-based buffs.
Its never clear to me whether cut scenes do the same, so the safest approach is to not prebuff at all if you are low on spell slots.

[seeker1]

I can tell you that Astarion assassin in stealth + Greater Invisibility + poisoned weapons assassinated and finished off Gortash on his own, without any other characters entering combat, or his guards figuring out what was going on. (After Gortash was down, the rest of the party jumped in to finish off the guards).

That must be one of those "OP" cases for stealth, but I enjoyed it. However, the problem with finishing him off that way, maybe a minor one, is you never get the rather enjoyable dialogue Karlach will have with him before you kill him.

[Taifun_Vash]

That a hidden character can trigger a cutscene is really one of the more questionable parts, but can still be used. You can for one trigger a cutscene with one of your characters while the others are hidden and get into positions for a stealth attack. Outside of this cutscene events it works fine.
This darkvision problem, is one I haven't experienced yet, if they're outside of the view cone and hidden at that they won't get pulled into the fight and can act separately from they rest that were in someones view cone. If you start a battle with a hidden character you still need to put the changing view cones of the other enemies into that calculation, that will react to the position of the character that started that battle.

[TaKo]

Originally posted by G3NTs:

Why does Darkvision, which allows characters to see in the dark up to 12 meters, affect their vision outside of their designated vision cone? It's illogical for characters to suddenly gain eyes in the back of their heads. This inconsistency undermines the realism of the game world and detracts from the immersion, making it difficult for players to suspend disbelief.

such a funny complaint

its cause people turn their heads, weirdo

and trying to simulate someone constantly checking their surroundings in a game like this is a lost cause so we get 360 degrees vision, while enemies get exclusive vision cones for the sake of making some stealthing and hiding not impossible

[Scheneighnay]

Originally posted by Mike Garrison:

It's not really a stealth game. But there are plenty of those available, if you want one.

Except we get a trickery domain cleric at the start where half of what makes her subclass unique is stealth utility.