10 Things to Know Before Playing Baldur's Gate III
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VOICE OVER: Ty Richardson
WRITTEN BY: Ty Richardson
The newest "Baldur's Gate" is just around the corner, so here's everything you need to know before playing. For this list, we'll be looking at the most prominent and important details surrounding the latest RPG from Larian Studios. Our list of things to know before playing "Baldur's Gate III" includes 17,000 Endings, That Whole Early Access Window, Launch Details, the “Descent Into Avernus” table top prequel, and more!
Script written by Ty Richardson
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re giving you 10 Things to Know Before Playing “Baldur’s Gate III”! The newest RPG from Larian Studios is just around the corner! Will you be picking up this massive game at launch? What character class are you starting out with? Let us know down in the comments.
If you’re worried about missing out on whatever stories were in the first “Baldur’s Gate” games, you might be pleased to know that you won’t have to worry about playing those to enjoy the new title. “Baldur's Gate III” takes place more than a hundred years after the events of “Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn”...which came out in the year 2000. The main story sees parasitic mind flayers slowly taking over the land of Faerun. You are among their latest victims, and you will have to find a way to cure yourself and rid the world of these monsters…or die trying.
For all you tabletop RPG fans out there, “Baldur’s Gate III” does utilize a specific rule set that might help you in building your character and investing in stats. The game will adhere to the fifth edition of the “Dungeons and Dragons” rule set, which is a version that basically creates a more streamlined RPG experience by simplifying stats like defense and proficiency bonuses. Clearly, this was done to not bog down any new players, and Larian has made additional changes deemed necessary for the translation from tabletop RPG to video game format, specifically for the combat.
Just to throw this out for lore dorks and “Baldur’s Gate” fans, there is something you can nab for additional story and maybe something to play before or as you play “Baldur’s Gate III”. If you would like to know what happened leading to these events, “Descent Into Avernus” is a tabletop RPG that serves as a prequel to “Baldur’s Gate III”. Of course, it isn’t required for you to understand most if not all of the video game, but it’s there if you want more lore and context.
Though the selection of character classes includes the expected archetypes, it’s worth noting you have a fairly large pool of classes to choose from compared to other RPGs. “Baldur’s Gate III” will feature twelve classes to build your character from, those classes being barbarian, cleric, bard, wizard, fighter, druid, monk, warlock, rogue, ranger, paladin, and sorcerer. Needless to say, most players shouldn’t have much trouble finding a means to translate their playstyle into the game.
Now, some folks might be confused about “Baldur’s Gate III” finally releasing when so many folks have already been playing it. Thing is, that is only partially true. Yes, some folks have already been playing the game. However, those players have only experienced a fraction of the game. During its early access run from October 2020 to August 2023, “Baldur’s Gate III” allowed players to experience the first act of the game. So many players logged on that it actually created technical problems according to Larian Studios. Speaking of which…
Some may be wondering what all the hype is about Larian Studios. “Baldur’s Gate” fans know that the big studios known for some of the franchise’s games included Black Isle Studios, High Voltage Software, Beamdog, and most of all, BioWare. Why Larian when they’ve never touched the IP before? Well, for those unfamiliar with the studio, Larian has amassed a rather large fanbase with their extensive work on RPGs. Many would point newcomers to their work on the “Divinity” games, specifically “Divinity: Original Sin” and its sequel, both of which are available to play on modern hardware. With the exception of their edutainment games from the late 2000’s, Larian has yet to put out a less-than-decent game.
By now, you’ve probably heard about the wild claim someone made about “Baldur’s Gate III” having over seventeen thousand endings. One detail some outlets may not be telling you is that these endings aren’t the kind of endings you or I would expect (you know, vastly different outcomes with different meanings and characters in every scene). Instead, they are variations of endings. But even under that notion, we can’t help but feel someone is greatly over exaggerating. After all, “Skyrim” supposedly had two hundred endings.
An interesting quote that’s been floating around comes from “Baldur’s Gate III’s” creative lead, Swen Vincke. In an interview with Dropped Frames, Vincke expressed interest in creating a custom character and recommended that players do the same for their first playthrough. From our point of view, this might be worth taking Vincke up on as custom characters do have their own dialogue options, and the way “Baldur’s Gate III” lets you build your character is reportedly very flexible. So, don’t let the extra work in character creation dissuade you.
“Baldur’s Gate III” will be available on PC and PlayStation 5, but players of the latter platform will need to wait a bit longer to play. Whereas PC gets the game on August 3, 2023, it will come to PS5 roughly a month later on September 6, 2023. A version for Xbox Series X/S is in development, although Larian has reportedly run into problems making the co-op function properly for that version. PC players, make sure you have the specs to properly run the game as it will require 8GB of RAM minimum, an Nvidia GTX 970 or RX 480 graphics card with 4GB of VRAM, an Intel I5 4690 or AMD FX 8350 processor, and roughly 150GB of storage space. But before we end the video, we have one last thing to discuss about “Baldur’s Gate III”...
All of y’all need to quit obsessing over this bear. Get some class in your souls and go watch “Space Jam”.
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re giving you 10 Things to Know Before Playing “Baldur’s Gate III”! The newest RPG from Larian Studios is just around the corner! Will you be picking up this massive game at launch? What character class are you starting out with? Let us know down in the comments.
Story
If you’re worried about missing out on whatever stories were in the first “Baldur’s Gate” games, you might be pleased to know that you won’t have to worry about playing those to enjoy the new title. “Baldur's Gate III” takes place more than a hundred years after the events of “Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn”...which came out in the year 2000. The main story sees parasitic mind flayers slowly taking over the land of Faerun. You are among their latest victims, and you will have to find a way to cure yourself and rid the world of these monsters…or die trying.
Rule Set
For all you tabletop RPG fans out there, “Baldur’s Gate III” does utilize a specific rule set that might help you in building your character and investing in stats. The game will adhere to the fifth edition of the “Dungeons and Dragons” rule set, which is a version that basically creates a more streamlined RPG experience by simplifying stats like defense and proficiency bonuses. Clearly, this was done to not bog down any new players, and Larian has made additional changes deemed necessary for the translation from tabletop RPG to video game format, specifically for the combat.
“Descent Into Avernus”
Just to throw this out for lore dorks and “Baldur’s Gate” fans, there is something you can nab for additional story and maybe something to play before or as you play “Baldur’s Gate III”. If you would like to know what happened leading to these events, “Descent Into Avernus” is a tabletop RPG that serves as a prequel to “Baldur’s Gate III”. Of course, it isn’t required for you to understand most if not all of the video game, but it’s there if you want more lore and context.
Character Classes
Though the selection of character classes includes the expected archetypes, it’s worth noting you have a fairly large pool of classes to choose from compared to other RPGs. “Baldur’s Gate III” will feature twelve classes to build your character from, those classes being barbarian, cleric, bard, wizard, fighter, druid, monk, warlock, rogue, ranger, paladin, and sorcerer. Needless to say, most players shouldn’t have much trouble finding a means to translate their playstyle into the game.
That Whole Early Access Window
Now, some folks might be confused about “Baldur’s Gate III” finally releasing when so many folks have already been playing it. Thing is, that is only partially true. Yes, some folks have already been playing the game. However, those players have only experienced a fraction of the game. During its early access run from October 2020 to August 2023, “Baldur’s Gate III” allowed players to experience the first act of the game. So many players logged on that it actually created technical problems according to Larian Studios. Speaking of which…
The Thing About Larian
Some may be wondering what all the hype is about Larian Studios. “Baldur’s Gate” fans know that the big studios known for some of the franchise’s games included Black Isle Studios, High Voltage Software, Beamdog, and most of all, BioWare. Why Larian when they’ve never touched the IP before? Well, for those unfamiliar with the studio, Larian has amassed a rather large fanbase with their extensive work on RPGs. Many would point newcomers to their work on the “Divinity” games, specifically “Divinity: Original Sin” and its sequel, both of which are available to play on modern hardware. With the exception of their edutainment games from the late 2000’s, Larian has yet to put out a less-than-decent game.
17,000 Endings?
By now, you’ve probably heard about the wild claim someone made about “Baldur’s Gate III” having over seventeen thousand endings. One detail some outlets may not be telling you is that these endings aren’t the kind of endings you or I would expect (you know, vastly different outcomes with different meanings and characters in every scene). Instead, they are variations of endings. But even under that notion, we can’t help but feel someone is greatly over exaggerating. After all, “Skyrim” supposedly had two hundred endings.
Your First Playthrough
An interesting quote that’s been floating around comes from “Baldur’s Gate III’s” creative lead, Swen Vincke. In an interview with Dropped Frames, Vincke expressed interest in creating a custom character and recommended that players do the same for their first playthrough. From our point of view, this might be worth taking Vincke up on as custom characters do have their own dialogue options, and the way “Baldur’s Gate III” lets you build your character is reportedly very flexible. So, don’t let the extra work in character creation dissuade you.
Launch
“Baldur’s Gate III” will be available on PC and PlayStation 5, but players of the latter platform will need to wait a bit longer to play. Whereas PC gets the game on August 3, 2023, it will come to PS5 roughly a month later on September 6, 2023. A version for Xbox Series X/S is in development, although Larian has reportedly run into problems making the co-op function properly for that version. PC players, make sure you have the specs to properly run the game as it will require 8GB of RAM minimum, an Nvidia GTX 970 or RX 480 graphics card with 4GB of VRAM, an Intel I5 4690 or AMD FX 8350 processor, and roughly 150GB of storage space. But before we end the video, we have one last thing to discuss about “Baldur’s Gate III”...
That Bear
All of y’all need to quit obsessing over this bear. Get some class in your souls and go watch “Space Jam”.
