A little over a month has passed since Larian Studios launched Baldur's Gate 3 into early access, and the studio has begun revealing some of the lessons it's taken from watching players interact with the opening 20 hours of the game. That includes taking a hard look at frustrations players are having with the game's random die rolls.
While the Baldur's Gate game franchise is set in the fictional world of Dungeons & Dragons, Baldur's Gate 3 is the first in the series to fully embrace Dungeons & Dragons mechanics into its gameplay. The first two games, created by BioWare, had real-time battles (instead of turn-based) that could be paused to allow players to issue orders to party members, and while certain stats could affect dialogues and interactions with NPC, there were no dice rolls to see how successful a character was at an interaction. But Larian Studios is taking Baldur's Gate 3 in a different direction, fully implementing the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition rules.
In an interview with IGN, Swen Vincke, a founder of Larian Studios, revealed that not all players are embracing the 5E rules. This is in part because the dice rules apply not just to combat but also to aspects like dialogue and stealth. A player might try to persuade an NPC to make a certain decision, but if the roll of the D20 (plus any relevant stat bonuses) doesn't go in their favor, the NPC could refuse. The result has been a high level of save-scumming in certain key Baldur's Gate 3 encounters as players, dissatisfied with failing a check, reload to get a better outcome. Vincke said that the decision to start Baldur's Gate 3 almost completely ruled by Random Number Generation (RNG) was a purposeful one, as Larian Studios wanted to see how players reacted to that version of the game. As the data starts pouring in about where players are reloading or as players vent their frustrations in forums, Larian can begin tweaking the game to provide a more enjoyable experience.
Will Baldur's Gate 3 Use Weighted RNG In the Future?
Larian Studios is already considering alternatives to the RNG model. While full RNG mode will always be available to those who want it, Larian is considering what essentially amounts to a weighted dice model that will make it much more likely the outcome will be in the player's favor. It is also looking at unspecified role-playing options (potentially more dialogue options) to allow players other opportunities to resolve a situation to their liking. Larian is also continuing work on other areas of Baldur's Gate 3, like balancing early-level areas where players have fewer skills and magical abilities at their disposal.
Players coming to Baldur's Gate 3 with a Dungeons & Dragons background are likely more used to embracing failure as a natural outcome of gameplay, but it can be understandably frustrating to have a carefully crafted stealth approach go haywire because a dice rolled low. Tabletop Dungeons & Dragons inherently gives players more options from trying to recover from a failed roll, as they are only limited by their imagination (and the DM) in how they try to respond to a situation. In a video game, however, players have to work within the limits of the game system, and a failed check may only have certain outcomes. Baldur's Gate 3 is only a month into what will likely be a year-long early access, so players can wait and see how Larian will adjust the systems in the future.
Source: IGN
Baldur's Gate 3 is in early access on PC and Google Stadia.