# Baldur's Gate 3! {finally Released August 3rd, 2023} **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** video-games-e-games\ **Created:** [February 28, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681 "2020-02-28T23:42:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/281 "2023-08-04T06:09:53Z")
It downloaded in about 45 minutes for me. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/282 "2023-08-04T10:28:08Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > BG3 isn’t out yet for PS5 (and who knows when it’ll be on Xbox)… I read somewhere it is now at least 2024. Apparently there are technical issues getting split screen to work on Xbox Series S and Microsoft demands that it be available on all their platforms at the same time (so it can’t come out on other Xbox versions). ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/283 "2023-08-04T10:33:31Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Went with human paladin, custom origin. I really liked the voiced character intros but I don’t want to be locked into anything for my first playthrough. The lead dev at Larian recommended a custom character on a first playthrough but, of course, either way is fine. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/284 "2023-08-04T10:47:20Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Some mild spoilers comparing the opening hour or so from the release version to what I last played right after early access released: > > You can save Shadowheart on the nautiloid! Yep, that was cool! I took a different path through the nautiloid than I did in early access. I’m not sure if the old path (with a lot of noncombatant thralls wandering around) was still available and I skipped it, or if they changed the path entirely; but with saving Shadowheart, I was worried that I missed still more companions. Hopefully not–hopefully only Shadowheart and Laziel are on the ship. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/285 "2023-08-04T10:48:01Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Wow, this launch is actually bigger than I thought it would be. It’s at like 450,000 concurrent players on Steam, which is massive. It’s in the same order of magnitude as Hogwarts: Legacy which had just under double the players, but for a game as niche as a D&D based CRPG that’s pretty huge 2nd biggest release so far this year: [https://twitter.com/benjisales/status/1687181980775968768](https://twitter.com/benjisales/status/1687181980775968768) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/286 "2023-08-04T11:06:20Z")
Same, I think. I wasn’t home while it was downloading so if it hiccuped at all I wouldn’t have noticed. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/287 "2023-08-04T11:59:53Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > but the DM told me when I picked the item up “hey, this looks like it would fit in a machine!”. And where exactly is that item? I just triggered the fight on the deck and I’m afraid I missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/288 "2023-08-04T12:07:26Z")
You can see where it is needed in this video (queued to the right time…definitely spoiler): [Baldur's Gate 3 - Let's Play Part 1: Infected - YouTube](https://youtu.be/rsnlokMpx-c?t=2487) In the room where you find Shadowheart in a Mind Flayer pod. It is the console next to her pod. You get the thing you need to unlock the console in the next room. As an aside, that has been a tough fight for me at the helm. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/289 "2023-08-04T13:11:24Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > As an aside, that has been a tough fight for me at the helm. I didn’t quite understand… I was wondering if it was scripted, or if I got strange rolls, because the Demon Lord absolutely smashed the Mindflayer, himself almost untouched. Then two more 80HP flying demons showed up and one-shotted my team. So I chalked it up to an unwinnable fight, and did the helm thing. But the cutscene seemed to indicate the Mindflayer had won the fight, so I was confused ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/290 "2023-08-04T13:38:13Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m not sure if the old path (with a lot of noncombatant thralls wandering around) was still available and I skipped it, or if they changed the path entirely; I believe it was completely different, and rather shorter. I didn’t have to jump a gap outside, I didn’t have to run over the surface of the ship while fighting imps and thralls. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/291 "2023-08-04T13:40:19Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > And where exactly is that item? I just triggered the fight on the deck and I’m afraid I missed it. There was a dead end room near Shadowheart’s room, with a lady in a pod that turns into a mind flayer instantly if you push a button. In the back of the room are a handful of dead bodies one of which has the item in question. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/292 "2023-08-04T13:59:07Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > So I chalked it up to an unwinnable fight, and did the helm thing It’s meant to be unwinnable, but I believe you _can_ help the mind flayer win, and if you do so you can steal the demon’s flaming sword. You have a time limit before dragons destroy the ship, though, and as you noted some medium demons show up to help him in the middle of the battle. I took a few potshots at the devil but wasn’t getting anywhere so I activated the console and moved on. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/293 "2023-08-04T14:10:26Z")
In regards to the helm battle… It took me two tries because my first try the mind flayer died before the general did, and then turned on me, just as the cambions arrived. The second time I buffed and healed the mind flayer long enough that he survived as I also burned down the general. The mind flayer then turned on me, but at that point the cambions had arrived and he went after them, leaving me alone after one spiteful attack. I looted the general for the sword and armor, then went for the console. A few minor demons show up to get between you and the console but they are easy to kill or even avoid. You just need to get someone to the console before the party wipes or you run out of time, it doesn’t matter which enemies are still standing. That sword is nice for my paladin and I wasn’t going to pass it up. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/294 "2023-08-04T14:19:08Z")
Damn, I’m getting fomo from missing out on that loot! Something to remember for next time. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/295 "2023-08-04T14:44:29Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > It’s meant to be unwinnable… I wonder if anyone has ever managed it? Seems like the kind of thing someone, somewhere put the time in to do. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/296 "2023-08-04T14:50:21Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I wonder if anyone has ever managed it? Seems like the kind of thing someone, somewhere put the time in to do Yeah, absolutely - it’s not literally unwinnable, it’s just that if you’re doing a basic playthrough it’s meant to be more challenging than you can handle. Sort of like the CR 8 water elemental in the tutorial dungeon of Wrath of the Righteous - it’s there for advanced players pushing the mechanic to solve while new players avoid it. @Atamasama said he beat it a few posts up from yours. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/297 "2023-08-04T14:52:00Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > @Atamasama said he beat it a few posts up from yours. I meant beat everything in the room (I was unclear). ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/298 "2023-08-04T14:52:30Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > @Atamasama said he beat it a few posts up from yours. I did, though it was much, much harder than it was in early access; I wasn’t prepared for it the first time. And I wouldn’t say I won the whole fight, just enough of it to get what I wanted. > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I meant beat everything in the room (I was unclear). I think doing that would require a very specific strategy, maybe even some “cheese”. I wouldn’t know where to begin. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/299 "2023-08-04T14:57:41Z")
So I played till quite late last night, up to about 3 hours total now. Early game spoilers: I cleared out the crashed Nautiloid, teamed up with Shadowheart and Astarion, and (thanks to Bardic Inspiration and the Guidance cantrip) manated to open the locked door to the crypt on the beach. This let me approach the looters from inside the crypt, catching them by surprise - though it was still a tough fight (especially due to an inconveniently placed explosive barrel). With the crypt cleared out we’ve taken our first long rest, and are preparing to head away from the beach next time I play. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681/300 "2023-08-04T15:08:23Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > an inconveniently placed explosive barrel Interesting, if we’re thinking of the same fight that barrel trivialized it for me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baldurs-gate-3-finally-released-august-3rd-2023/848681.md?page=16)