To tackle one of the criticisms of
the turn-based model – that it’s slow
or laborious – Larian’s made some
tweaks. Instead of characters going in
order and getting an attack or an
action, you can swap between them,
using attacks and bonus actions to
create a combo. Your party effectively
moves simultaneously. If you love the
turn-based combat so much you want
it on even when you’re out of battle,
however, you can force turn-based
mode. This should make it easier to
sneak, since you can more accurately
manage your party’s movements.
All of the spells, abilities, and
values are as they would be in a
regular game of D&D, but just as
important are all the open-ended
roleplaying and combat
opportunities. D&D is largely fuelled
by imagination, and while Baldur’s
Gate III has to impose a few more
limits (sorry, no Wish spell), it still
promises to be more interactive and
experimental – and just as free to
exploit and abuse – than the already
liberating Divinity: Original Sin II.
In one fight, Vincke places some
crates to give him more elevation and
a combat advantage, and he could
have alternatively used them to
create a barricade. Before another, he
sneaks around removing weapons
from suspicious-looking skeletons, so
when the trap is sprung, they have to
use their fists. The plan is to
eventually make the AI find a new
weapon, comparing their values to
find the most effective one, but they’d
still have to spend precious time
looking around. In a pinch, you can
fling some of your inventory at yourlots of ways to prepare for a battle to
give you an advantage, but some of
them will just be there to make you
feel like a total badass.
“We don’t want all the fights to be
complicated,” says Imbert. “Some of
the fights have to be easy, like three
goblins standing next to an explosive
barrel. So we have this concept of
popcorn fights, which are designed to
make you feel good about yourself.”
With more complex level design
comes a more flexible camera. The
isometric view is helpful in combat,
but as you’re wandering around, you
might fancy zooming in and playing
it more like a third-person affair,
watching your character’s rear and,
for the first time, admiring skyboxes
and distant vistas.TOP: Calamari is
back on the menu.
ABOVE: You probably
don’t want to end up
becoming a mind
flayer. Bit... gross.foes, just like Vincke did with his
boot. That means Larian needs to
figure out how much damage, along
with what kind of damage, all these
objects do. Then there are the
environmental factors, like elemental
surface effects, loose boulders, or
floors that can be destroyed, splitting
the battle across multiple levels.HIGH GROUND
Original Sin II had elevated areas, but
the fights really took place on an
invisible 2D grid. In Baldur’s Gate III,
it’s fully 3D. This means you could
have your ranger hanging out in the
rafters, your rogue finding an
alternate route below the ground, and
your fighter rushing in with their
massive sword swinging. There areTHERE ARE LOTS OF
WAY S T O PR E PA R E F OR
A BATTLE TO GIVE YOU
AN ADVANTAGE