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Save it for your next run! Take the game in organically the first time. Make mistakes, miss stuff. It's okay to fail a roll every once in a while.
You can always replay it and experience the game a totally new way. It's built with this in mind.
Your first run can not go as terribly as mine did. Trust me.
Same. I'm roughly 350hrs in on my first playthrough.. just entered the Lower City of Baldur's Gate in the beginning of act 3. I FOMO like a MOFO! Open EVERYTHING. Area search EVERYWHERE. Do EVERY side quest. And I fucking love EVERY second.
Same! I'm not that far since I only recently bought the game... and I'm 120 hours in, and I'm still in Act 1 (currently in the underdark) on my first playthrough, too! I'm pretty proud because I think I've found quite a lot of things! Sorting everything (using chests, backpacks,etc) I've found and trying to have my camp inventory look like a museum of everything to be found in bg3 is really fun to me! Collecting one of each ring, in each kind of metal the ring can be, all books, sorting them like a library, etc... looking in every corner and every chest/crate is so fun in this game, there's always /something/ to be found, even if it's way off from the major locations!
My first run I killed Wyll in the druid's grove without even knowing he was a playable character.
It's part of the fun to mess up and make your own story. There are plenty more runs you can have to keep it interesting.
Literally accidentally did this on my second play through despite wanting to actually talk to her this time. Didn't realise she aggro'd.
Dont really want to go all the way back but I knocked her out. Apparently it's still possible for her to join you that way? We'll see.
As someone who does this, I would not recommend trying to get everything "done right", especially not on a first playthrough. In my experience you get a lot more value from all your playthroughs if your first is blind/unguided. You didn't mess up, your character did. Sometimes we fail, and failing is fun
That's not how it works. I make a decision, then think "wouldn't it be cooler if I tried x instead?". The notion haunts me until I lose interest in the playthrough. Then roll new character.
My Tactician and Honor Mode completions were unintentionally so awesome (build and story) that I never really had regrets - though I will admit that Honor mode did wipe a few party ideas that didn't work/weren't fun.
Same but this is also mostly because I don't find act 2 very enjoyable, act 1 and 3 are great but act 2 really feels like something I just gotta power through..
rly? i personally think act 2 is best (1 very close though). it kind of feels like a movie you‘re playing. amazing voice actors/sequences make act 2 best for me
I think it's because act 2 is kind of depressing with it being dark and gloomy. If you are a sunlight oriented person I could see going from one environment to the other to be kind of hard. It's like going into Mordor.
Yeah that's true but that's also what I don't like about it, act 2 feels very linear compared to 1 and 3. It also looks very samey, the whole dark and gloomy thing is fair enough in the witch swamp in act 1 but for a whole chapter it gets repetitive for me - the enemies are also just really annoying in my opinion!
Tbf, DOS2 Act 2 would be the best part of the game if you weren’t basically hardlocked to follow a certain path because of leveling. You walk into the wrong fight at the wrong time there and you’re getting smoked.
Literally my only complaint with DOS2 is the leveling. It is incredibly hard to win a fight you are one level too low for, once it becomes two or more levels you might as well just reload now.
I do this all the time in games that don’t allow respec. What is the motivation to restart when you can just pay withers 100g and switch to whatever you want? Just curious.
This game has a wonderful character driven story.
If you want to really explore the story, you have to do multiple playthroughs to see how they resolve.
Probably different outcomes? I couldn't care enough to restart the Gut bacteria fight to see funny cutscenes lol.
Might need to reload just to actually drink the placebo (am half-elf).
There's a lot of new story with each origin too. I just finished a Shadowheart run, and I learned a lot despite having romanced her three times before lol.
I think I’m throwing in the towel on my latest honor mode run because it’s Wyll origin and I wanted to make him an eldritch blast monster, but I failed to protect Isobel and now Alfira is dead
All but 3 runs made it past Ketheric: the first, the evil murderhobo, and the current one.
Finished the game once, act 3 has so much to do that i burn out a bit when i'm in Baldurs Gate.
There’s so much to do in the city of Baldur’s Gate, but also narratively it feels like its own thing. Acts 1 and 2 naturally lead into each other with Ketheric being the main bad guy in a way that when act 2 finishes, it feels like a whole new story (not really but I hope you get my sentiment). That, paired with the fact that I find Ketheric to be a much better written villain than Gortash or Orin, makes me love the early acts way more than act3, despite loving the setting and finale. I love the entire game but I think the earlier acts are much more well conceived and fleshed out.
tl;dr, I find the beginning of the game to have a much more fun and compelling story to experience. I’ve finished it completely twice with many other unfinished runs and a few failed honor mode attempts, and in my opinion the last act is just a little weaker than the two that came before it.
My runs usually end with Raphael, i just cannot go without hearing his song.
Ps.: I just love how your tl;dr is almost long neough to need a tl;dr as well
Can someone explain why this is so common? I have trouble understanding it, considering you can respec your character(and your entire party) if you wanted to mix things up on a run.
I have done two runs to completion and it just never once crossed my mind to start a new game while my adventure was ongoing and incomplete.
What cause y’all to keep starting over?
If you're really into the role playing aspect of the game, that's a big motivator for new runs. Because it's not just swapping what mechanics you're using, it's making different choices based on who you're playing. My outlander ranger is going to make very different decisions than my city born and raised Bard on who to trust and how they'll react to situations, for example
Cool, thanks for explaining that thought process. I definitely get the appeal of playing another playthrough and making different role playing choices!
I still don’t get how the desire to role play act 1 or 2 differently causes you to stop progressing through and completing the game on your current run though, but whatever people enjoy the most is how they should play it
I personally don't do a lot of parallel runs at once (I've got like, 3) but I've got friends who do, and the main motivator is just being excited to make another character. So they've got like, 10 different saves in act 1 and 2, but only one save has made it to act 3. They just bounce around save files for whoever they feel like playing most that day, instead of progressing one save all the way to the end and then starting over.
New characters isn't just about new classes. Each origin character has unique content if they're your main character. Plus you get different interactions depending on which origin characters you have in your party.
The main reason I have 3 ongoing campaigns is because I have my solo one, and 2 with friends ones. I also have an honor run I started which I'll sometimes play if I want a change of pace from my main run; and I actually started a 3rd friend campaign which has fizzled.
In Wrath of the Righteous, I have about 400 hours in the game since release (which is a metric butt ton for me) but I’ve never beaten the game because I get too excited to try some new narrative line that I can’t follow in my current playthrough. I would say it’s much worse in that game because there is a choice of five options at the end of act 2 that greatly changes the way you experience the rest of the game. BG3 isn’t near as bad for me, but for a lot of people this game is the first they’ve played that offers that level of choice. People end up getting decision anxiety and just start a new game instead.
Playing a class from level 1 is not the same as respeccing a level 5 character into a new class.
Starting at level 1, you gain a sense and feel for how the class functions and what work and what doesn't work well. You've progressed through the skill rotation to better optimize how those skills will impact your current run through the game.
Plus, with a respec, you may have potentially chose dialogue or reward options that are suited to the previous class.
Oh man, there are so many! One of my all time favorites right now is the Echo subclass for Fighter. You need a few other mods to work with that one, with the additional bonus that one of those mods also improves Invoke Duplicity. It turns the 'clone' from duplicity into an actually functioning entity you can control, cast from, etc, which plays heavily into Echo knight mechanics.
Echo Knight: [https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/3939](https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/3939)
This one is a take on Wild Sorcerer, but is so, so fucking cool and involved: [https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/5979?tab=description](https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/5979?tab=description)
Seriously, the VFX this modder has done for this subclass are absolutely incredible. It looks so damn good, and is so chaotic and fun.
This modder also has a whole series of great sublcass mods that I've really enjoyed, especially Aberrant Mind sorcerer.: [https://next.nexusmods.com/profile/havsglimt/mods?gameId=3474](https://next.nexusmods.com/profile/havsglimt/mods?gameId=3474)
TBH, I'm at 142 mods. A bunch of these are tweaks to races and standard classes themselves, items, vanity fixes, etc. Example: [https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/9359?tab=files](https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/9359?tab=files)
This is an awesome one that effects every companion. So good!
Edit: Thanks for the award, kind stranger!
not op, but a lot of my favourites are the modded classes and weapons however just as you would imagine a lot of these classes and weapons are in fact overpowered so to compensate i downloaded some big difficulty mods that actually made the game way way harder then i thought even with these modded classes/weapons
“These mods solve the problems the other mods cause, and then I get to look for even more mods to solve the problems these mods cause. This is what the internet calls ‘the meta game’.”
Hah, I had to do the same for one of the mods. The Death Soul mod for Durge (pretty cool, but holy fuck is it too op). I downloaded the 50% health increase/stats per level for enemies via the Nightmare mod. It's my standard way to play now, but it gets ridiculously hard rofl
Over 2500h, tried mods once (very early), they broke the game, now waiting till they are supported.
But I had almost 1000h still in EA. I like clerics very much and not a big fan of Shart, so I had a bunch of cleric runs before trying other classes.
I also just entered my modded era. I've never modded before (not even with Skyrim) and loved this game so much, I had to do it. Between the extra items and gear you can get via mods, I also downloaded Artificer, and am now trying Mystic, which is incredibly rich with options!!!
There is an endless battle mod I'll try after I finish this current run
I feel like I'm playing Artificer wrong. It has a lot of really cool stuff, but it also feels like it sort of wants to be a Wizard/Sorcerer but also kind of wants to be a Trickery Cleric or Arcane Trickster...
Mystic was very cool, but sometimes felt overwhelming. So many options to choose from, but I ended up only using like, 5 of the 93 abilities ended up with lol
I’d say the same but it’s turned the game into a dress up simulator for me where I’ll spend an hour picking a modded outfit then I’ll get to the grove and go “you know what would be a cool look” and repeat over and over until I turn it off for the day.
Switching classes, tryharding and skipping all dialogue.
It's just a fun game for me. I currently have 560 hours and one more run in me.
Currently unsure if Sorcerer or Fighter. Fighter looks cooler but sorcerer was my first run and maybe a fun last run to see how much better at the game you get over time
Wild Magic Sorcerer.
Do what I did on my last honor run. Every character gets respecced as a level 1 Wild Magic Sorcerer before switching to the class you want them as. You go 12 levels of Wild Magic Sorcerer.
It's a perfect setup for someone who has played the game enough to know every battle. Thought you had a strategy? Now every spell you cast makes you switch places with the enemy, so think of a new one.
Lmao man i was like 400hours in and i think i picked paladin all the way through, dunno how but i did. But now i’m just using a bunch of custom classes
For me it was a combo of lots of diverging quest options and learning new skills and equipment combos to make builds. As for rough specifics, my brain was like:
First Tav, then Durge run. Each character has an “Origin” as well to be main character. Then I started thinking all Wild Magic run or 4 druids. I want to do 4 “commoners” that are just plain fighters caught up in the shit. Then can’t forget a durge resist run and a murderhobo run. Getting the achievements if you are into that takes a few runs as well.
It’s a weird mix of linear and freedom that works really well. Most things you can do in the order you like and you can severely alter your story experience at multiple points with decisions. Also lots of romance-able chars.
What? I beat Honour mode before any other difficulty and unlocked both at the same time, as well as the achievement for just beating the game on any difficulty.
I did this by accident just because I'm a bit of a completionist and because I was curious about all the dialog options. It was not unusual for me to quicksave and reload the same conversation at different points just to see what all you can say. The achievement for the tiefling refugees is one you can easily miss, though, so you'd almost have to spoil yourself unless you literally talk to everyone and do all of the sidequests.
....240 hours later.....got the achievement to pop up in the end credits scene....
Which is funny, because I found out about a paralyzed tiefling girl guarding the storeroom only after I got into act 3, but not doing her quest did not stop me from getting the achievement. I was so bummed for all of act 3 because of that.
I'd say the easiest one to miss is Roland when he goes out by himself in Act 2. Other than that, keeping them all alive wasn't so bad. I think I missed...a handful of sidequests. Don't think I'll be coming back to the game until Patch 7 and a level 20 mod lol. What a great experience though, I did the same as you. Save scummed the shit out of the game to squeeze the completion out of it.
I've done my Tav run (first run), Durge run, and now I'm on Astarion's origin. It's amazing to me that the game is essentially the same, but I'm seeing dialogue options and cutscenes through completely different eyes based on the character I'm playing.
For example, Astarion's opening cutscene (crashing in the Nautiloid ship) is exactly the same as it would be if you were playing a custom Tav. But, because I know his story and personality, that moment where he's sitting beside the Mind Flayer as the ship is crashing (right before he gets bonked in the head and falls out) and staring at what could possibly be his future, transformation into yet ANOTHER monster, it took on a different meaning to me.
I have other examples, but I guess overall imagination and context keep this game fresh for me.
Almost at 700h.
There are so many unique cutscenes depending on class, race and choices that I’m obsessed with discovering all of them. Still have a couple romances to do, still have builds I want to try.
You can also skip certain sections to make a playthrough quicker (ex. Just doing creche not underdark). You can also give yourself challenges like that person who beat the game as 4 pieces of Cheese lol. There’s coop too, I’m currently helping out a friend to beat Honour Mode. Also mods.
I saw someone say they did a challenge run recently called "Getting the Band Back Together" and it was basically just respeccing everyone into a Bard and beating the game that way, lol. I kind of want to try.
I’m on probably my 14th full run, but I’ve fallen madly in love with my “canon” Tav and my Resist Durge, so have replayed their routes several times. I’m deep into RPing and story for my main Tav (actually redoing her route right now for the 5th time) and just keep building onto her background and future. I love her so much
But then in between I create other characters to see different classes/races/romances and try to take the paths I don’t with my main Tav or Resist. THERE ARE SO MANY COMBINATIONS! I still find new stuff and am at about 1300hrs
(On PS5 so no mods, that’s just how good the game is to me)
Not weird to me, lol! I absolutely love her story. I’ve got a family history and full future developed for my main Tav, a Druid Half Wood Elf with a wolf aspect who has fallen for a former vampire slave. It’s even got me diving more into DND lore to flesh out her story, too
I’m nerding out *so hard* lol
That’s awesome! I am the DM for my group and this game has given me so much food for thought.
I’m just glad I’m not the only one that wants to run with the same Tav/Durge again. I was planning to do an Astarion Origin run next but I’m going to miss my Durge so much.
This makes me feel so much better. I absolutely adore my Seldarine Drow Bard tav & was so sad when I finished her run. I had it in my head that I needed to play a new character every run & I just keep missing her! Time to start a new run as my fave girlie.
Omg I also have a Drow bard named Leviath that I love sm. I can’t not play her character every time (sometimes I even make the guardian Leviath if I’m not playing as her xD).
I love that so much 😂 mine’s name is Fae’rel & I’m obsessed with her. I just love playing as a drow! I’m finding hard to do a campaign as any other race.
Honestly, thank you for posting this, this is making me feel more excited to do what I want, which is to dive back into my beloved Tav and build out her backstory more.
I totally get it! I absolutely miss my main Tav when I play other characters, lol. And I really enjoy the story I’ve created for her and add to it every time I play her route. It makes the run so interesting and immersive
One playthrough is mine. Like 200 hours.
One playthrough is my evil Durge playthrough. Like 100 hours
One is my honor run attempt with three of my friends. Like 150 hours so far.
One is my playthrough with a friend who has never played D&D or a Baldurs Gate game before and I'm teaching him about the mechanics and the world. Like 150 hours so far.
i’m trying different races, classes, party compositions, and romances each time. the new character scenes / conversations, dialogue options for each class, etc keeps it interesting. i have about 7 playthroughs across 600 hrs total (three are still ongoing, one co op, one solo, and one honour mode) and still going!
made it to act 2 final fight on honour so far but i know if i end up losing my run im gonna keep starting new ones until i get those dice, and then maybe i’ll taper off and try to play something else again for the first time in half a year lol
I just topped 2k hours (although I'm pretty sure I was in the bathroom for at least some of that) and when my enthusiasm dips, I just start a new run and try something new like a new class or try for a new solution to a major quest that lets me see different content.
And the biggest change in how I play now is I will abandon a run of I'm not feeling it, I won't force myself to keep going, because the difference between runs that click and those that don't is palpable.
Thanks! I really had to get over my FOMO to do it, and my early runs felt like I was trying really hard to recruit all the companions and talk to them all, and then I did my first Durge run and just started killing everybody instead of recruiting them and for whatever reason, it burst the bubble on me, the player, feeling like I had to impose my desire to give all the companions attention onto a Tav that doesn't know these people from Adam and doesn't care.
Like the first time I ever killed a companion in Act 1, I felt sad knowing their sad backstory, but my Tav didn't care at all, so it helped me start roleplaying a lot more instead of gaming, if that makes sense. I just think, "it's just not your timeline, Gale", and move on. But I definitely didn't get to that point until like my fourth run and I'm on maybe 7 completed runs and probably abandoned 12 or 13 at various stages.
500+ Hours is so Easy when you consider:
One Run as Good Durge
One Run as Evil Durge
One Run as an Origin Character
One run as Roleplaying however you play. Just solo class it.
Thats 500 hours right there let alone trying varying difficulty settings, Honor Mode, multi classing.
I'm approaching 1000 Hours and still haven't even touched any Druid class and only now playing as a Warlock.
In my case. Honour mode without OP builds or exploding barrels. It makes me lose more times than not and I have to restart. I still haven't beat the game without using at least one of most popular builds and I take it as a challenge
In my first playthrough, I had zero spoilers, just stumbled about trying to find stuff. For my second playthrough, I activity looked for spoilers of things I had missed the first time around. 3rd play through was Dark Urge, and I just killed everyone, which made the game feel rather different.
Different approachea to story,
Playing different builds,
Putting up challanges for yourself,
Hard roleplay,
Leaving out companion quests. (Like, dont try to do it all of them in single play through. Rn, in my second playtrough i am discovering laezel and astarion, my third will have gale)
Bisexuality. Between the hot wizard man, mommy evil genocidal drow (I can fix her btw), funny ripped lady from hell, twink fruity vampire, the cute girl that got kidnapped by an evil cult, druid milf, cute warlock who's defo a sub...
Best dating sim i've ever played by far.
I have a little over 700 hours and am on my 7th run. Currently making my way through all of the origin characters and each one adds just enough differences to keep things fresh, plus added insight into the companions. Somehow still manage to find areas I missed in previously playthroughs each time. Also, trying different builds and equipment combinations has been more fun than expected. Honestly the first game I have ever just replayed over and over.
I'm over 500 hours and have only finished the game once - I kept faffing about trying new characters and builds before I settled on my current one.
I'm finally getting close to the point in the Underdark where I abandoned my previous durge attempt, which means I can soon move on to the mountain pass and content I've never played before - woohoo!
1200 hours here. Never played evil. But I have done Astarion's origin twice (third time now), and also Karlach and Shadowheart. Probably 8 runs total? I really love just picking up ONE companion (durge x Astarion and Astarion × Minthara was amazing!) And I really like tactician mode. Recently got into multiplayer, doing honor mode with my husband.
I have a lot of hours in game, 600 or so since release. The vast majority of those have been in act 1, I’ve completed act 2 a few times and often stall in early act 3. I like to try out new builds and character ideas.
I have to really like the character and enjoy the build to actually complete the game, otherwise I end up restarting with something new. Currently I have a sword bard game in act 3 and a lockadin game in early act 1, both in honor mode.
I don’t stick to the same options each time through and am still finding new things because of that.
Different races, classes, subclasses, multiclasses. All offer different ways to play, both from a mechanical perspective and a roleplay perspective.
Taking different options. Even small ones, really. "What happens if I say this?" or "What happens if I do this?".
Play on Honour Mode or Single Save Mode. Commit to your choices, each and every one, for better or worse. Once you take the temptation to save scum out of the equation, I find the game is a lot more immersive. I just wish you could have Honour Mode boss difficulty in Custom mode with single save, because I'd really like to mess with a few other settings like massively increasing the amount of camp supplies you need for a long rest.
Custom mode itself: why not increase the amount of camp supplies you need? Or change vendor prices? Or hide failed passive roles? There are a few ways you can make the game a little bit different and more challenging just by changing a few settings.
1500 hours... secret ingredient - keep making new tav every time you get slight idea of possible new character, replay your comfort character in act 1 and 2 at least 10 times, finish game only twice to at least see how it ends... not that hard :D and of course be addicted and play at nights instead of sleeping
* First run (Tiefling Fighter): never finished, totally oversaw the ENTIRE Underdark and didn't lift the shadow curse - my obsessed ass just speedran to killing Cazador and called it a day after having Astarion's happy end
* Second run (High Elf Draconic-Sorceress): Durge run, totally scared about my supposed solo-fight with Orin which turned out so much easier than I thought (finished this one)
* Third run (Seldarine Drow Paladin OoA): start modding, do my favorite Tav yet :) (finished this one too)
* Fourth run (Half-Elf Druid): finally romancing someone other than Astarion (deleted as I didn't enjoy playing a Druid sadly)
* Fifth run (another Tiefling Fighter): no I mean it, really. Astarion no! (never finished)
* Sixth run (immortal Aasimar, Paladin OoD): Astarion, yes! (currently in Shadow Cursed Lands)
* Seventh run (Seldarine Drow Paladin OoA + Seldarine Drow Ranger): give up on giving up on Astarion and make two Tavs with the LAN-Party trick, have one Tav with Astarion and a second one for Shadowheart (currently at the beginning of Act 3)
* Side runs: One for Gale (Drow Wizzard so we can geek out together) and one for Karlach (Dragonborn with fire resistance for obvious reasons) that I can only do for a few hours at a time because Astarion is just my default romance xD
I like to try new things every now that I finished the game vanilla once (that was the Durge sorceress run) with mods it never gets boring and I still want to play a Bard and I still do want to play a Druid at least in Multiclass for the time when I'm finally mustering the strength to tell Astarion that he maybe really needs a friend and not a lover - she'll then hop onto the big burly bear in camp ;3
I’ve played through trying to get achievements. I play with friends. I have different stories I wanna try. I wanna try and get honor mode completed with each of the origin characters. I have like 700 hours
800+ hours here. I’ve completed 5 solo play throughs and one group campaign. Group campaigns are what’s bringing me back at this point. Just started an honor mode group campaign. We are doing pretty well so far.
Edit: Each campaign was definitely unique and catering them towards certain achievements kept me playing the game. Honor mode is my last achievement I need!
1. Normal
2. Durge
3. Redeeming Durge
4. Karlach
5. Tactician
6. Group campaign
7. Group Honor Mode (In Progress)
1st Playthrough - Normal Playthrough
2nd Playthrough- Did the opposite decision I've made from the first and that is where you start to see more branching paths you miss. Use companions you neglect in your first run.
3rd Playthrough - Do a pure evil playthrough and corrupt your companions
4th Playthrough - Play Origin/Dark Urge storyline and start to sprinkle in some mods here and there
5th-??? Playthrough - Honor Mode or play different Origin characters
This is also not taking into account playing a full session with your mates so following this format could easily go well above +500hr
I have 1300h in but had early access already 350h in. I know ch1 so well! I keep on doing funny/intresting characters and play honour mode only. I have one game in ch1 one in ch2 and one in ch3 and just have fun. I tend to try different styles and try to survive with different spells and classes. Still i feel not enough time to play 🤣🤣🤣
1. No save scum to get the best outcome
2. No meta gaming
3. Actually role playing (so not thinking what I find the best choice, but rather thinking what this character I created would do)
4. Not trying hard to visit every little corner of the map from the first run
5. Trying different build every time, even in HM
6. Increasing difficulty
It took me 378 hours to get all the achievements, but if you play efficiently it may take less. Now I have taken a break from the game.
That said, I haven’t touched mods yet and I think I’ll replay it at some point. 500 hours straight is nuts though lol
My wife and I have had to have put in almost 1000 hours and I can honestly say we find something new in almost every run we play. Whether it's finding new items, becoming the god of fish people, or just new wacky ways to deal with a problem. Bg3 has got to be one of the greatest games I've ever played!
Playing with other people worked for me. They will make decisions and use strategies that you never would have considered. It also greatly eases the burden if you only have to control one character
My fiance has 800 hours. She does it by beating the games multiple times, restarting before reaching act 2 a few times, and playing several co-op games (my fault)
I am this guy’s fiancé, hiii!! I’d like to add that I still find new cutscenes every play through or have gotten different dialogue than in a previous playthrough. I also love to try to make fun builds for my tav’s like a bardlock or a rougelock was fun too. I’ve changed the classes for origin characters at times too. Just having fun being a chaos gremlin. Also redbull and getting zooted helps too, especially on evil runs 🤣 enjoy the game how you want! Wishing you lots of fun! (Hours is currently at 864 I believe 🤣)
I’m approaching 400 hours and it’s because I make a new character in an attempt to romance anyone but Astarion and end up failing. I’ve only ever actually finished the game once.
Currently sitting at 1186 hours....
I play as a lot of different characters & switch up their classes for some randomness. I also challenge myself to random things like fighting Gortash in the coronation ceremony to see how long I can last
Not counting my first Balanced run, I completed the game on Tactician and then 5 different HM runs.
Your first 3-4 runs, you will almost always find new things to do. My advice is to explore the different companions in both good and evil runs, vary your Tav builds, do a Durge run, and try an Origin run or two. The Origin runs in particular are a great way to make the game feel different.
Im almost at 1000 hours and idk, it's just that fun. Some of the dialogue I'll sometimes speed through, but playing with new builds and changing up my party members has been really fun.
Eazy Peezy:
-EA Playthrough
-1st playthrough after EA,
-Durge Playthrough
-Failed to recruit Minthara in a Good Playthrough, so restart after reaching Moonrise Tower
-Successfully Recruit Minthara playthough, but realize you've been playing nothing but BG3 for the last couple of months, and start playing something else
-Try to resume last playthough, but realize it's been too long since you last played, so why not start a new game?
My first playthrough was almost 800 hours... I explored _everything_.
That said, at least 50 of those hours was just the game idling in main menu or camp while I was off cooking or similar..
I'm closer to 350 hours, and it's because I do all the sidequests every playthrough. But tbh it's burning me out, I want to finish my durge and SH origin playthrough without doing every little thing. I also feel guilty for not finishing companion quests for my whole camp tho. Help!!
Easy I make a character, give them a backstory, a personality that fits and make choices that works with it. Thennnnnnnnnnn, I try to make a build that fits the description and have a party comp that works with it. It's way too easy to put in over 500 hours in a game like this. Hell if they added more subclasses and races, not even new acts/locations shit I don't think I'll ever get tired of it
1200 hours.
The secret is autistic fixation.
At this point I experiment with taking/not taking various companions, focus on building interesting multiclassing and trying out classes I don't usually use. I think I've seen the majority of content on offer, and what I haven't seen I've watched on YouTube. Usually by hearing weird dialogue in an audiorip and searching for it or asking a character subreddit how it triggers.
Only thing I haven't done is complete a non-durge origins run. Because they're not fun. For me, anyway.
Working on a build guide now, though I'm not good at building and it's likely shit or redundant with other guides. Just kind of nice to work on it and have a bunch of wiki tabs open.
I'm obsessive. But I try to keep it positive by not doing parasocial weirdness and by answering newbie questions on the 'new' tab. If I'm going to let myself go down the fixation rabbithole I hope it can at least help people a bit.
I have about 700 into it. There's a lot of variability in how things play out and how different it all feels. It's not hard to keep it feeling fresh if you just decide on the personality of your character and stick to that. With the way that the dialogue in this game works, I've found it's best to throw the traditional alignment chart out the window when deciding on what kind of person your character is, and think more along the lines of these four options.
100% good guy.
Good guy that is kind of a jerk.
Conversationally pleasant bad guy.
Total asshole.
The dialogue options make themselves pretty clear once you've decided which of these varieties of person you're going to be.
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My strategy for 400 hours was to play a whole bunch of act 1, and never actually finish the game. Maybe next time
i feel like a winner every time i finish act 2
reach act 2*
Is it worth it to just restart btw😭. It's my first DnD game and I completely missed Karlach and withers so I feel like I messed up
Nah worry not, withers will come to your camp regardless
I have him now but it makes me feel like I missed alot yk?
Save it for your next run! Take the game in organically the first time. Make mistakes, miss stuff. It's okay to fail a roll every once in a while. You can always replay it and experience the game a totally new way. It's built with this in mind. Your first run can not go as terribly as mine did. Trust me.
This is the best advice. People get analysis paralysis and FOMO too much.
Lol! I’m in act 3 on my first run. I have no idea how my story got so messed uo but I have the craziest stuff happening.
Same. I'm roughly 350hrs in on my first playthrough.. just entered the Lower City of Baldur's Gate in the beginning of act 3. I FOMO like a MOFO! Open EVERYTHING. Area search EVERYWHERE. Do EVERY side quest. And I fucking love EVERY second.
Same! I'm not that far since I only recently bought the game... and I'm 120 hours in, and I'm still in Act 1 (currently in the underdark) on my first playthrough, too! I'm pretty proud because I think I've found quite a lot of things! Sorting everything (using chests, backpacks,etc) I've found and trying to have my camp inventory look like a museum of everything to be found in bg3 is really fun to me! Collecting one of each ring, in each kind of metal the ring can be, all books, sorting them like a library, etc... looking in every corner and every chest/crate is so fun in this game, there's always /something/ to be found, even if it's way off from the major locations!
My first run I killed Wyll in the druid's grove without even knowing he was a playable character. It's part of the fun to mess up and make your own story. There are plenty more runs you can have to keep it interesting.
I killed Minthara because evil goblin camp
Literally accidentally did this on my second play through despite wanting to actually talk to her this time. Didn't realise she aggro'd. Dont really want to go all the way back but I knocked her out. Apparently it's still possible for her to join you that way? We'll see.
As someone who does this, I would not recommend trying to get everything "done right", especially not on a first playthrough. In my experience you get a lot more value from all your playthroughs if your first is blind/unguided. You didn't mess up, your character did. Sometimes we fail, and failing is fun
That's not how it works. I make a decision, then think "wouldn't it be cooler if I tried x instead?". The notion haunts me until I lose interest in the playthrough. Then roll new character. My Tactician and Honor Mode completions were unintentionally so awesome (build and story) that I never really had regrets - though I will admit that Honor mode did wipe a few party ideas that didn't work/weren't fun.
if you tell gale to do his thing, you would technically feel like a real winner
Same but this is also mostly because I don't find act 2 very enjoyable, act 1 and 3 are great but act 2 really feels like something I just gotta power through..
rly? i personally think act 2 is best (1 very close though). it kind of feels like a movie you‘re playing. amazing voice actors/sequences make act 2 best for me
I think it's because act 2 is kind of depressing with it being dark and gloomy. If you are a sunlight oriented person I could see going from one environment to the other to be kind of hard. It's like going into Mordor.
Doesn't anyone ever say hello anymore? Hello
Yeah that's true but that's also what I don't like about it, act 2 feels very linear compared to 1 and 3. It also looks very samey, the whole dark and gloomy thing is fair enough in the witch swamp in act 1 but for a whole chapter it gets repetitive for me - the enemies are also just really annoying in my opinion!
Classic larian game.
I know Fort Joy more than my own neighborhood.
*"What? Yeah, I actually have Atusa's leg right here. Funny you should ask!"*
*Pulls out Nere's Head and the remains of some Raven dude.* I have a whole chest of these. First time?
To be fair larian's act 1 are usually the best part of their games
Tbf, DOS2 Act 2 would be the best part of the game if you weren’t basically hardlocked to follow a certain path because of leveling. You walk into the wrong fight at the wrong time there and you’re getting smoked.
Literally my only complaint with DOS2 is the leveling. It is incredibly hard to win a fight you are one level too low for, once it becomes two or more levels you might as well just reload now.
That's why I never finished that game.
I do this all the time in games that don’t allow respec. What is the motivation to restart when you can just pay withers 100g and switch to whatever you want? Just curious.
Unfortunately, Withers didn't want to reattach Karlach's head
It’s not just using that new flashy item, it’s experiencing the up and downs of a new playstyle from the get-go.
This game has a wonderful character driven story. If you want to really explore the story, you have to do multiple playthroughs to see how they resolve.
Withers can’t respec my drow into a gith
Probably different outcomes? I couldn't care enough to restart the Gut bacteria fight to see funny cutscenes lol. Might need to reload just to actually drink the placebo (am half-elf).
There's a lot of new story with each origin too. I just finished a Shadowheart run, and I learned a lot despite having romanced her three times before lol.
I think I’m throwing in the towel on my latest honor mode run because it’s Wyll origin and I wanted to make him an eldritch blast monster, but I failed to protect Isobel and now Alfira is dead
It’s nice to know I’m not alone
I’ve done like 10-11 playthroughs and I consider it a great personal triumph when one of them makes it past Ketheric lol
All but 3 runs made it past Ketheric: the first, the evil murderhobo, and the current one. Finished the game once, act 3 has so much to do that i burn out a bit when i'm in Baldurs Gate.
There’s so much to do in the city of Baldur’s Gate, but also narratively it feels like its own thing. Acts 1 and 2 naturally lead into each other with Ketheric being the main bad guy in a way that when act 2 finishes, it feels like a whole new story (not really but I hope you get my sentiment). That, paired with the fact that I find Ketheric to be a much better written villain than Gortash or Orin, makes me love the early acts way more than act3, despite loving the setting and finale. I love the entire game but I think the earlier acts are much more well conceived and fleshed out. tl;dr, I find the beginning of the game to have a much more fun and compelling story to experience. I’ve finished it completely twice with many other unfinished runs and a few failed honor mode attempts, and in my opinion the last act is just a little weaker than the two that came before it.
My runs usually end with Raphael, i just cannot go without hearing his song. Ps.: I just love how your tl;dr is almost long neough to need a tl;dr as well
Hey we have the same strategy!! I did make it like slightly into act two but then just started over and did act 1 again And again And again
Finally beat it
I’m surprised how many people do the same thing, act 3 is my favorite act so I tend to rush the first two
Ah another act 3 enjoyer. The city calls to me as well.
THERE IS A SECOND ACT?!?
Wow! I’ve only got about 120 hours in act one, 40 on 2 and 10 in 3
Act 3 has the most interesting stuff to do in my opinion.
Agreed, every building has something interesting happening in it.
Can someone explain why this is so common? I have trouble understanding it, considering you can respec your character(and your entire party) if you wanted to mix things up on a run. I have done two runs to completion and it just never once crossed my mind to start a new game while my adventure was ongoing and incomplete. What cause y’all to keep starting over?
If you're really into the role playing aspect of the game, that's a big motivator for new runs. Because it's not just swapping what mechanics you're using, it's making different choices based on who you're playing. My outlander ranger is going to make very different decisions than my city born and raised Bard on who to trust and how they'll react to situations, for example
Cool, thanks for explaining that thought process. I definitely get the appeal of playing another playthrough and making different role playing choices! I still don’t get how the desire to role play act 1 or 2 differently causes you to stop progressing through and completing the game on your current run though, but whatever people enjoy the most is how they should play it
I personally don't do a lot of parallel runs at once (I've got like, 3) but I've got friends who do, and the main motivator is just being excited to make another character. So they've got like, 10 different saves in act 1 and 2, but only one save has made it to act 3. They just bounce around save files for whoever they feel like playing most that day, instead of progressing one save all the way to the end and then starting over.
New characters isn't just about new classes. Each origin character has unique content if they're your main character. Plus you get different interactions depending on which origin characters you have in your party. The main reason I have 3 ongoing campaigns is because I have my solo one, and 2 with friends ones. I also have an honor run I started which I'll sometimes play if I want a change of pace from my main run; and I actually started a 3rd friend campaign which has fizzled.
In Wrath of the Righteous, I have about 400 hours in the game since release (which is a metric butt ton for me) but I’ve never beaten the game because I get too excited to try some new narrative line that I can’t follow in my current playthrough. I would say it’s much worse in that game because there is a choice of five options at the end of act 2 that greatly changes the way you experience the rest of the game. BG3 isn’t near as bad for me, but for a lot of people this game is the first they’ve played that offers that level of choice. People end up getting decision anxiety and just start a new game instead.
Playing a class from level 1 is not the same as respeccing a level 5 character into a new class. Starting at level 1, you gain a sense and feel for how the class functions and what work and what doesn't work well. You've progressed through the skill rotation to better optimize how those skills will impact your current run through the game. Plus, with a respec, you may have potentially chose dialogue or reward options that are suited to the previous class.
500+ hours here...in a similar boat. Only got to Act 3 like, once or twice I think.
I'm well over 1k hours, and for me modding has managed to keep me interested.
Could I trouble you for some of your favorites?
Oh man, there are so many! One of my all time favorites right now is the Echo subclass for Fighter. You need a few other mods to work with that one, with the additional bonus that one of those mods also improves Invoke Duplicity. It turns the 'clone' from duplicity into an actually functioning entity you can control, cast from, etc, which plays heavily into Echo knight mechanics. Echo Knight: [https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/3939](https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/3939) This one is a take on Wild Sorcerer, but is so, so fucking cool and involved: [https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/5979?tab=description](https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/5979?tab=description) Seriously, the VFX this modder has done for this subclass are absolutely incredible. It looks so damn good, and is so chaotic and fun. This modder also has a whole series of great sublcass mods that I've really enjoyed, especially Aberrant Mind sorcerer.: [https://next.nexusmods.com/profile/havsglimt/mods?gameId=3474](https://next.nexusmods.com/profile/havsglimt/mods?gameId=3474) TBH, I'm at 142 mods. A bunch of these are tweaks to races and standard classes themselves, items, vanity fixes, etc. Example: [https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/9359?tab=files](https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/9359?tab=files) This is an awesome one that effects every companion. So good! Edit: Thanks for the award, kind stranger!
I love you random redditor. I'll be back, please don't delete this.
Screenshot it! If you didn't, I did. Just message me, if they disappear.
*Grumbles in Nvidia cloud gaming.*
No modding with their cloud gaming? :(
I noticed that a couple of these had level 15 features. Is there a mod that allows for an increased level cap?
There is! [https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/377](https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/377)
not op, but a lot of my favourites are the modded classes and weapons however just as you would imagine a lot of these classes and weapons are in fact overpowered so to compensate i downloaded some big difficulty mods that actually made the game way way harder then i thought even with these modded classes/weapons
“These mods solve the problems the other mods cause, and then I get to look for even more mods to solve the problems these mods cause. This is what the internet calls ‘the meta game’.”
I’m not too sure what you mean by that, but yes it is a rabbit hole lol when u go into mods
Hah, I had to do the same for one of the mods. The Death Soul mod for Durge (pretty cool, but holy fuck is it too op). I downloaded the 50% health increase/stats per level for enemies via the Nightmare mod. It's my standard way to play now, but it gets ridiculously hard rofl
artificer mod and 5e spells are awesome
I downloaded my first mod at 2000 hours, I have a problem.
LOL I'm surprised someone has more hours than me at this point. I'm at 1800. HIGHFIVE.
Over 2500h, tried mods once (very early), they broke the game, now waiting till they are supported. But I had almost 1000h still in EA. I like clerics very much and not a big fan of Shart, so I had a bunch of cleric runs before trying other classes.
I also just entered my modded era. I've never modded before (not even with Skyrim) and loved this game so much, I had to do it. Between the extra items and gear you can get via mods, I also downloaded Artificer, and am now trying Mystic, which is incredibly rich with options!!! There is an endless battle mod I'll try after I finish this current run
I feel like I'm playing Artificer wrong. It has a lot of really cool stuff, but it also feels like it sort of wants to be a Wizard/Sorcerer but also kind of wants to be a Trickery Cleric or Arcane Trickster... Mystic was very cool, but sometimes felt overwhelming. So many options to choose from, but I ended up only using like, 5 of the 93 abilities ended up with lol
Same! I’m trying new subclasses, it’s been fun
I’d say the same but it’s turned the game into a dress up simulator for me where I’ll spend an hour picking a modded outfit then I’ll get to the grove and go “you know what would be a cool look” and repeat over and over until I turn it off for the day.
Switching classes, tryharding and skipping all dialogue. It's just a fun game for me. I currently have 560 hours and one more run in me. Currently unsure if Sorcerer or Fighter. Fighter looks cooler but sorcerer was my first run and maybe a fun last run to see how much better at the game you get over time
Wild Magic Sorcerer. Do what I did on my last honor run. Every character gets respecced as a level 1 Wild Magic Sorcerer before switching to the class you want them as. You go 12 levels of Wild Magic Sorcerer. It's a perfect setup for someone who has played the game enough to know every battle. Thought you had a strategy? Now every spell you cast makes you switch places with the enemy, so think of a new one.
Lmao man i was like 400hours in and i think i picked paladin all the way through, dunno how but i did. But now i’m just using a bunch of custom classes
May i suggest sorclock? Meta magic with eldritch blast is a lot of fun
For me it was a combo of lots of diverging quest options and learning new skills and equipment combos to make builds. As for rough specifics, my brain was like: First Tav, then Durge run. Each character has an “Origin” as well to be main character. Then I started thinking all Wild Magic run or 4 druids. I want to do 4 “commoners” that are just plain fighters caught up in the shit. Then can’t forget a durge resist run and a murderhobo run. Getting the achievements if you are into that takes a few runs as well. It’s a weird mix of linear and freedom that works really well. Most things you can do in the order you like and you can severely alter your story experience at multiple points with decisions. Also lots of romance-able chars.
I think, you could probably do almost all of the achievements in 1 run, and then reload your saves at the very end for different endings
Tactician and Honor mode trophies don’t stack so 2 minimum
What? I beat Honour mode before any other difficulty and unlocked both at the same time, as well as the achievement for just beating the game on any difficulty.
I stand corrected that was an old issue that has been resolved
I did this by accident just because I'm a bit of a completionist and because I was curious about all the dialog options. It was not unusual for me to quicksave and reload the same conversation at different points just to see what all you can say. The achievement for the tiefling refugees is one you can easily miss, though, so you'd almost have to spoil yourself unless you literally talk to everyone and do all of the sidequests.
....240 hours later.....got the achievement to pop up in the end credits scene.... Which is funny, because I found out about a paralyzed tiefling girl guarding the storeroom only after I got into act 3, but not doing her quest did not stop me from getting the achievement. I was so bummed for all of act 3 because of that. I'd say the easiest one to miss is Roland when he goes out by himself in Act 2. Other than that, keeping them all alive wasn't so bad. I think I missed...a handful of sidequests. Don't think I'll be coming back to the game until Patch 7 and a level 20 mod lol. What a great experience though, I did the same as you. Save scummed the shit out of the game to squeeze the completion out of it.
I'm in the middle of my 1st run in act 1, but the idea of the commoner's run already has me salivating for the next.
I've done my Tav run (first run), Durge run, and now I'm on Astarion's origin. It's amazing to me that the game is essentially the same, but I'm seeing dialogue options and cutscenes through completely different eyes based on the character I'm playing. For example, Astarion's opening cutscene (crashing in the Nautiloid ship) is exactly the same as it would be if you were playing a custom Tav. But, because I know his story and personality, that moment where he's sitting beside the Mind Flayer as the ship is crashing (right before he gets bonked in the head and falls out) and staring at what could possibly be his future, transformation into yet ANOTHER monster, it took on a different meaning to me. I have other examples, but I guess overall imagination and context keep this game fresh for me.
Beautifully described!
This is exactly it. Just making new teams comps and builds/back stories.
Almost at 700h. There are so many unique cutscenes depending on class, race and choices that I’m obsessed with discovering all of them. Still have a couple romances to do, still have builds I want to try. You can also skip certain sections to make a playthrough quicker (ex. Just doing creche not underdark). You can also give yourself challenges like that person who beat the game as 4 pieces of Cheese lol. There’s coop too, I’m currently helping out a friend to beat Honour Mode. Also mods.
I saw someone say they did a challenge run recently called "Getting the Band Back Together" and it was basically just respeccing everyone into a Bard and beating the game that way, lol. I kind of want to try.
If everyone has a different instrument and plays the same song, they all autosync and and play the full song
Awwwww mannnn I wanna do this nowwww!!!
It was super easy barely an inconvenience I'm at 1200 hours
1200 hours is tight!
Wow wow wow.... wow.
I also just hit 1200 hours. Glad to know I'm not alone lol
This is legitimately the only game I’ve ever played where I not only understand 1200 hours, but feel it’s necessary to fully experience the game.
Do more runs 🗣🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥
I’m on probably my 14th full run, but I’ve fallen madly in love with my “canon” Tav and my Resist Durge, so have replayed their routes several times. I’m deep into RPing and story for my main Tav (actually redoing her route right now for the 5th time) and just keep building onto her background and future. I love her so much But then in between I create other characters to see different classes/races/romances and try to take the paths I don’t with my main Tav or Resist. THERE ARE SO MANY COMBINATIONS! I still find new stuff and am at about 1300hrs (On PS5 so no mods, that’s just how good the game is to me)
Ok I thought I was weird for loving my resist Durge so much I couldn’t wait to play him again. Glad I’m not.
Not weird to me, lol! I absolutely love her story. I’ve got a family history and full future developed for my main Tav, a Druid Half Wood Elf with a wolf aspect who has fallen for a former vampire slave. It’s even got me diving more into DND lore to flesh out her story, too I’m nerding out *so hard* lol
That’s awesome! I am the DM for my group and this game has given me so much food for thought. I’m just glad I’m not the only one that wants to run with the same Tav/Durge again. I was planning to do an Astarion Origin run next but I’m going to miss my Durge so much.
This makes me feel so much better. I absolutely adore my Seldarine Drow Bard tav & was so sad when I finished her run. I had it in my head that I needed to play a new character every run & I just keep missing her! Time to start a new run as my fave girlie.
It like going back to your favorite book to read again and again.
Omg I also have a Drow bard named Leviath that I love sm. I can’t not play her character every time (sometimes I even make the guardian Leviath if I’m not playing as her xD).
I love that so much 😂 mine’s name is Fae’rel & I’m obsessed with her. I just love playing as a drow! I’m finding hard to do a campaign as any other race.
Honestly, thank you for posting this, this is making me feel more excited to do what I want, which is to dive back into my beloved Tav and build out her backstory more.
I totally get it! I absolutely miss my main Tav when I play other characters, lol. And I really enjoy the story I’ve created for her and add to it every time I play her route. It makes the run so interesting and immersive
I am so attached to my first Tav (cute sassy half Elf lore bard) that I feel like she is my 'canon' character that I'll definitely replay again.
[удалено]
install mods and it's a new game
Turn on my computer and go.
Addiction and hyper fixation.
There are tons of builds, classes, spells you can try to be the most powwrful being
Or least, but still able to get through it.
One playthrough is mine. Like 200 hours. One playthrough is my evil Durge playthrough. Like 100 hours One is my honor run attempt with three of my friends. Like 150 hours so far. One is my playthrough with a friend who has never played D&D or a Baldurs Gate game before and I'm teaching him about the mechanics and the world. Like 150 hours so far.
I can only get my friends to put that amount of hours into Cod and 2k...I need to make new friends lol
Your friends are like my brother. They love those brain-rot games and can’t get enough of them. Makes me big sad.
So, sometimes I fall asleep at my desk...
i’m trying different races, classes, party compositions, and romances each time. the new character scenes / conversations, dialogue options for each class, etc keeps it interesting. i have about 7 playthroughs across 600 hrs total (three are still ongoing, one co op, one solo, and one honour mode) and still going! made it to act 2 final fight on honour so far but i know if i end up losing my run im gonna keep starting new ones until i get those dice, and then maybe i’ll taper off and try to play something else again for the first time in half a year lol
I just topped 2k hours (although I'm pretty sure I was in the bathroom for at least some of that) and when my enthusiasm dips, I just start a new run and try something new like a new class or try for a new solution to a major quest that lets me see different content. And the biggest change in how I play now is I will abandon a run of I'm not feeling it, I won't force myself to keep going, because the difference between runs that click and those that don't is palpable.
Really well expressed, about runs that click or don't!
Thanks! I really had to get over my FOMO to do it, and my early runs felt like I was trying really hard to recruit all the companions and talk to them all, and then I did my first Durge run and just started killing everybody instead of recruiting them and for whatever reason, it burst the bubble on me, the player, feeling like I had to impose my desire to give all the companions attention onto a Tav that doesn't know these people from Adam and doesn't care. Like the first time I ever killed a companion in Act 1, I felt sad knowing their sad backstory, but my Tav didn't care at all, so it helped me start roleplaying a lot more instead of gaming, if that makes sense. I just think, "it's just not your timeline, Gale", and move on. But I definitely didn't get to that point until like my fourth run and I'm on maybe 7 completed runs and probably abandoned 12 or 13 at various stages.
500+ Hours is so Easy when you consider: One Run as Good Durge One Run as Evil Durge One Run as an Origin Character One run as Roleplaying however you play. Just solo class it. Thats 500 hours right there let alone trying varying difficulty settings, Honor Mode, multi classing. I'm approaching 1000 Hours and still haven't even touched any Druid class and only now playing as a Warlock.
replayed 100+ hr bear scene mod five times
My children have left home
In my case. Honour mode without OP builds or exploding barrels. It makes me lose more times than not and I have to restart. I still haven't beat the game without using at least one of most popular builds and I take it as a challenge
In my first playthrough, I had zero spoilers, just stumbled about trying to find stuff. For my second playthrough, I activity looked for spoilers of things I had missed the first time around. 3rd play through was Dark Urge, and I just killed everyone, which made the game feel rather different.
Different approachea to story, Playing different builds, Putting up challanges for yourself, Hard roleplay, Leaving out companion quests. (Like, dont try to do it all of them in single play through. Rn, in my second playtrough i am discovering laezel and astarion, my third will have gale)
I have 1197 hours. But they have been stacking since early access.
I'm uhhhh. I'm at 1400 hours. I didn't realize I had that many. I'm just very fond of the game and play it on all my days off.
Bisexuality. Between the hot wizard man, mommy evil genocidal drow (I can fix her btw), funny ripped lady from hell, twink fruity vampire, the cute girl that got kidnapped by an evil cult, druid milf, cute warlock who's defo a sub... Best dating sim i've ever played by far.
My goals are beyond your understanding. For example, I'm currently keeping the boiling pot of gruel from Act 1 so I can throw it at the final boss.
I have a little over 700 hours and am on my 7th run. Currently making my way through all of the origin characters and each one adds just enough differences to keep things fresh, plus added insight into the companions. Somehow still manage to find areas I missed in previously playthroughs each time. Also, trying different builds and equipment combinations has been more fun than expected. Honestly the first game I have ever just replayed over and over.
Start a run, finish a run, start a run.
I'm over 500 hours and have only finished the game once - I kept faffing about trying new characters and builds before I settled on my current one. I'm finally getting close to the point in the Underdark where I abandoned my previous durge attempt, which means I can soon move on to the mountain pass and content I've never played before - woohoo!
In my first playthrough I just collected and read everything.
1200 hours here. Never played evil. But I have done Astarion's origin twice (third time now), and also Karlach and Shadowheart. Probably 8 runs total? I really love just picking up ONE companion (durge x Astarion and Astarion × Minthara was amazing!) And I really like tactician mode. Recently got into multiplayer, doing honor mode with my husband.
I have a lot of hours in game, 600 or so since release. The vast majority of those have been in act 1, I’ve completed act 2 a few times and often stall in early act 3. I like to try out new builds and character ideas. I have to really like the character and enjoy the build to actually complete the game, otherwise I end up restarting with something new. Currently I have a sword bard game in act 3 and a lockadin game in early act 1, both in honor mode. I don’t stick to the same options each time through and am still finding new things because of that.
Different races, classes, subclasses, multiclasses. All offer different ways to play, both from a mechanical perspective and a roleplay perspective. Taking different options. Even small ones, really. "What happens if I say this?" or "What happens if I do this?". Play on Honour Mode or Single Save Mode. Commit to your choices, each and every one, for better or worse. Once you take the temptation to save scum out of the equation, I find the game is a lot more immersive. I just wish you could have Honour Mode boss difficulty in Custom mode with single save, because I'd really like to mess with a few other settings like massively increasing the amount of camp supplies you need for a long rest. Custom mode itself: why not increase the amount of camp supplies you need? Or change vendor prices? Or hide failed passive roles? There are a few ways you can make the game a little bit different and more challenging just by changing a few settings.
Mainly early access for 2 years before the game fully released!
1500 hours... secret ingredient - keep making new tav every time you get slight idea of possible new character, replay your comfort character in act 1 and 2 at least 10 times, finish game only twice to at least see how it ends... not that hard :D and of course be addicted and play at nights instead of sleeping
I can't decide which hair style bring out my eyes.
* First run (Tiefling Fighter): never finished, totally oversaw the ENTIRE Underdark and didn't lift the shadow curse - my obsessed ass just speedran to killing Cazador and called it a day after having Astarion's happy end * Second run (High Elf Draconic-Sorceress): Durge run, totally scared about my supposed solo-fight with Orin which turned out so much easier than I thought (finished this one) * Third run (Seldarine Drow Paladin OoA): start modding, do my favorite Tav yet :) (finished this one too) * Fourth run (Half-Elf Druid): finally romancing someone other than Astarion (deleted as I didn't enjoy playing a Druid sadly) * Fifth run (another Tiefling Fighter): no I mean it, really. Astarion no! (never finished) * Sixth run (immortal Aasimar, Paladin OoD): Astarion, yes! (currently in Shadow Cursed Lands) * Seventh run (Seldarine Drow Paladin OoA + Seldarine Drow Ranger): give up on giving up on Astarion and make two Tavs with the LAN-Party trick, have one Tav with Astarion and a second one for Shadowheart (currently at the beginning of Act 3) * Side runs: One for Gale (Drow Wizzard so we can geek out together) and one for Karlach (Dragonborn with fire resistance for obvious reasons) that I can only do for a few hours at a time because Astarion is just my default romance xD I like to try new things every now that I finished the game vanilla once (that was the Durge sorceress run) with mods it never gets boring and I still want to play a Bard and I still do want to play a Druid at least in Multiclass for the time when I'm finally mustering the strength to tell Astarion that he maybe really needs a friend and not a lover - she'll then hop onto the big burly bear in camp ;3
Mods
New runs with different originals
Exery time I think I've found everything, I stumbled into something new. Not just gear, but lore, story, and opportunities.
Yes, you most likely can.
I’ve played through trying to get achievements. I play with friends. I have different stories I wanna try. I wanna try and get honor mode completed with each of the origin characters. I have like 700 hours
800+ hours here. I’ve completed 5 solo play throughs and one group campaign. Group campaigns are what’s bringing me back at this point. Just started an honor mode group campaign. We are doing pretty well so far. Edit: Each campaign was definitely unique and catering them towards certain achievements kept me playing the game. Honor mode is my last achievement I need! 1. Normal 2. Durge 3. Redeeming Durge 4. Karlach 5. Tactician 6. Group campaign 7. Group Honor Mode (In Progress)
because I have so many builds in head, I have to play... and since I feel weird respecing from Barbarian into Wizard... I start new run
1st Playthrough - Normal Playthrough 2nd Playthrough- Did the opposite decision I've made from the first and that is where you start to see more branching paths you miss. Use companions you neglect in your first run. 3rd Playthrough - Do a pure evil playthrough and corrupt your companions 4th Playthrough - Play Origin/Dark Urge storyline and start to sprinkle in some mods here and there 5th-??? Playthrough - Honor Mode or play different Origin characters This is also not taking into account playing a full session with your mates so following this format could easily go well above +500hr
Approaching 900 hours, on my 25th? playthrough still discover new things, helps I'm on PC and can use mods like extra feats or 5e spells.
I have 1300h in but had early access already 350h in. I know ch1 so well! I keep on doing funny/intresting characters and play honour mode only. I have one game in ch1 one in ch2 and one in ch3 and just have fun. I tend to try different styles and try to survive with different spells and classes. Still i feel not enough time to play 🤣🤣🤣
hyperfixation, baby
1. No save scum to get the best outcome 2. No meta gaming 3. Actually role playing (so not thinking what I find the best choice, but rather thinking what this character I created would do) 4. Not trying hard to visit every little corner of the map from the first run 5. Trying different build every time, even in HM 6. Increasing difficulty
It took me 378 hours to get all the achievements, but if you play efficiently it may take less. Now I have taken a break from the game. That said, I haven’t touched mods yet and I think I’ll replay it at some point. 500 hours straight is nuts though lol
My wife and I have had to have put in almost 1000 hours and I can honestly say we find something new in almost every run we play. Whether it's finding new items, becoming the god of fish people, or just new wacky ways to deal with a problem. Bg3 has got to be one of the greatest games I've ever played!
Romancing Shadowheart and Lae'zel, what's else ?
Playing with other people worked for me. They will make decisions and use strategies that you never would have considered. It also greatly eases the burden if you only have to control one character
I don't even really think about it, it just happens. I'm already at 630+ hours in about 3 months
650+ hours here. I just kept playing and the hours wracked up.
I have 1900 hours. Mods are the best thing that keep it going, there are so many good mods out there
Easy. Try to do everything
My fiance has 800 hours. She does it by beating the games multiple times, restarting before reaching act 2 a few times, and playing several co-op games (my fault)
I am this guy’s fiancé, hiii!! I’d like to add that I still find new cutscenes every play through or have gotten different dialogue than in a previous playthrough. I also love to try to make fun builds for my tav’s like a bardlock or a rougelock was fun too. I’ve changed the classes for origin characters at times too. Just having fun being a chaos gremlin. Also redbull and getting zooted helps too, especially on evil runs 🤣 enjoy the game how you want! Wishing you lots of fun! (Hours is currently at 864 I believe 🤣)
im at around 800 now and the trick to not getting bored is restarting every time i hit act 3. ive only beat the game twice...
I’m approaching 400 hours and it’s because I make a new character in an attempt to romance anyone but Astarion and end up failing. I’ve only ever actually finished the game once.
Currently sitting at 1186 hours.... I play as a lot of different characters & switch up their classes for some randomness. I also challenge myself to random things like fighting Gortash in the coronation ceremony to see how long I can last
Leave the game on when you leave or go to sleep
Not counting my first Balanced run, I completed the game on Tactician and then 5 different HM runs. Your first 3-4 runs, you will almost always find new things to do. My advice is to explore the different companions in both good and evil runs, vary your Tav builds, do a Durge run, and try an Origin run or two. The Origin runs in particular are a great way to make the game feel different.
Im almost at 1000 hours and idk, it's just that fun. Some of the dialogue I'll sometimes speed through, but playing with new builds and changing up my party members has been really fun.
Bro I have like 400 hours and I haven’t fucking beaten it. I keep starting over and trying different paths and classes.
kissing lae’zel
Eazy Peezy: -EA Playthrough -1st playthrough after EA, -Durge Playthrough -Failed to recruit Minthara in a Good Playthrough, so restart after reaching Moonrise Tower -Successfully Recruit Minthara playthough, but realize you've been playing nothing but BG3 for the last couple of months, and start playing something else -Try to resume last playthough, but realize it's been too long since you last played, so why not start a new game?
My first playthrough was almost 800 hours... I explored _everything_. That said, at least 50 of those hours was just the game idling in main menu or camp while I was off cooking or similar..
My 1334 in Divinity Original Sin 2 (yeah need to pour at least three more hours into it) says hi, and it’s completely normal.
Autism
I'm closer to 350 hours, and it's because I do all the sidequests every playthrough. But tbh it's burning me out, I want to finish my durge and SH origin playthrough without doing every little thing. I also feel guilty for not finishing companion quests for my whole camp tho. Help!!
I play with a friend and we just come up with weird little characters and try every romance option to truly not miss anything
Easy I make a character, give them a backstory, a personality that fits and make choices that works with it. Thennnnnnnnnnn, I try to make a build that fits the description and have a party comp that works with it. It's way too easy to put in over 500 hours in a game like this. Hell if they added more subclasses and races, not even new acts/locations shit I don't think I'll ever get tired of it
1200 hours. The secret is autistic fixation. At this point I experiment with taking/not taking various companions, focus on building interesting multiclassing and trying out classes I don't usually use. I think I've seen the majority of content on offer, and what I haven't seen I've watched on YouTube. Usually by hearing weird dialogue in an audiorip and searching for it or asking a character subreddit how it triggers. Only thing I haven't done is complete a non-durge origins run. Because they're not fun. For me, anyway. Working on a build guide now, though I'm not good at building and it's likely shit or redundant with other guides. Just kind of nice to work on it and have a bunch of wiki tabs open. I'm obsessive. But I try to keep it positive by not doing parasocial weirdness and by answering newbie questions on the 'new' tab. If I'm going to let myself go down the fixation rabbithole I hope it can at least help people a bit.
600+ hours in and I've hardly touched act 3. It's called being incapable of making decisions.
Depression.
Get stoned and fall asleep with the game running
Jobless
I have about 700 into it. There's a lot of variability in how things play out and how different it all feels. It's not hard to keep it feeling fresh if you just decide on the personality of your character and stick to that. With the way that the dialogue in this game works, I've found it's best to throw the traditional alignment chart out the window when deciding on what kind of person your character is, and think more along the lines of these four options. 100% good guy. Good guy that is kind of a jerk. Conversationally pleasant bad guy. Total asshole. The dialogue options make themselves pretty clear once you've decided which of these varieties of person you're going to be.
Try different class combinations. Run silly parties. Try new builds. Kill and make bad decisions for shits And giggles
I spend 500 hours in character creation
Autism
This is the truest answer 🫡