Have you played with mods yet? I have not but I mean to do so in my next game…just trying to decide which I want (there are a lot to choose from).
Has anybody been following the modding scene re: brand new content? Last I was paying any attention some people had figured out how to crack into the full dev toolkit and were working on whole new maps and adventures.
No. I haven’t explored that space much. I know there are a bunch of inventory management mods that people like, and a couple difficulty mods so that “kill everything your first turn” isn’t viable anymore.
One thing I saw that did seem interesting was an endless battle mode that turns the game into a rogue-like.
I have not but am intrigued by these as well as the new archetypes. I think what is stopping me from using mods is that, at least when I saw them, it was all manual. I tried it and ended up breaking my game, so had to reinstall. When this is easy, I can see my trying out mods.
Thanks for the discussion!
You might want to check-out the built in Mod Manager for BG3 (among other things it should be good at making sure you do not break your game):
(I have not tried it yet so if it blows-up your game let us know 
)
I’ve only played BG3 with mods. If there’s interest, I can give a summary of how I set mods up.
I find mods indispensable for role-playing games, like Baldur’s Gate, The Sims, Crusader Kings, etc. They give a much greater customization of characters, story, and difficulty.
How are mods affecting the story?
With mods it’s easier to get the outcome you want in any particular encounter, to better match the headcanon of your character.
“I’m telling you that the only way for Baldur’s Gate to be safe is with Jedi help, so of course I have the Star Wars mod. It’s the only way for the story to make sense!”
(Actually I support any mods that make the game fun for you, even if Barbie and Optimus Prime are using the Care Bear Stare to turn a Mind Flayer into an ally.)
I’d play that mod.
I feel like I should complete the game once before I install any mods, though I would like one that adds cloaks and more Ranger pets.
If you end up installing mods, make sure to also install a mod that doesn’t disable achievements for modded runs (if you care about that kind of thing).
I’m on my first playthrough (technically 2nd but i stopped playing for so long I had to restart to remember what was happening) and I feel like a few mods would help general game play - default action on explosive barrels is not attack, dont walk into fire/acid etc and Withers big naturals (dude would suit some round honkers).
I agree with this.
I think the first play-through should be without any mods. Play the game as it was made.
After that you will have a good sense of mods you might want to make the game more to your liking.
Of course, to each their own. Some mods fix bugs or other errors in the game which anyone may want on a first play-through. (speaking in general, not for BG3 in particular)
ETA: I am not sure this is want you want but you might want to check out these mods:
- Cloaks of Faerun at Baldur's Gate 3 Nexus - Mods and community
- Ranger Beast Master - Extra Companions at Baldur's Gate 3 Nexus - Mods and community
- Untamed - (Beast Master Ranger's Companion Overhaul) at Baldur's Gate 3 Nexus - Mods and community
(I have not used those mods so I can’t say if they work well)
I could have sworn that I looked up mods to add panther companions just a month or two ago, and none of these mods showed up…
So I just said I was done playing, but after finishing my recent run I had 3 achievements left. Looking up the hidden achievements I had a save that allowed me to do 1 very quickly. So I have 2 left; neither of which I have a convenient save file. For one it’s probably 1-2 hours of playtime into act 3. For the other it’d require starting a new run and playing to level 4-5. I guess if I speed ran that, that’s only a couple hours as well. Hmm.
At this point might as well!
Actually it turned out I had a good save file for romancing the Emperor so now I’m down to only 1 achievement to go. Sigh, yeah, might as well.
On the other hand, I want to play as a Ranger, but will I want to play it with mods?
Been playing the game again, and got through a couple of very unique quests and boss fights in Act 3. The remaining missions are running out, though…
I’m starting to think about doing another run, with an evil character. My first run I got all the companions to live up to their heroic potential and completed all their quests the “good” way. But I’m thinking it might be fun to corrupt everyone I can next time, to see the other way they could turn out.
It might be fun to respec the characters so they are a different, but still fitting, class. Thinking it through:
Astarion - he’d make an amazing bard; my only hesitation is that my good guy runs was as a bard. Still, it could be fun. Or he could be a Gloom Stalker ranger, or a sorcerer. I think all of those could work for him.
Lae’Zel - I have this idea of Lae’Zel as a monk, I think that would work really well.
Shadowheart - I think a paladin works well with the Dark Justiciar path.
Gale - I feel like he can’t really stray from wizard… Maybe a sorcerer? But I feel like if I make him a necromancer or something that would be sufficiently different.
Karlach - I’m going evil, she won’t be doing me sadly.
Wyll - ditto.
Minthara - I’ve never played her, but she’s a paladin, and Shadowheart will be going down that path too. I killed her in this playthrough, so I’m not sure how heavily linked to the paladin class she is… Could I make her something else Lolth aligned, like a cleric?
The druids are once again going to be left out if I go with the evil path (I have them in this playthrough but was too invested in the other characters to do much with them). But I do kind of want to play with the druid class, it’s another class that I haven’t really touched.
I’m almost considering whether I can justify a spore druid as a spider themed priestess for Minthara…
Actually, Circle of the Land: Underdark would add some very thematic spells. Maybe it’s not a horrible idea…