#They need to fix act 3. they need to add things to Wyll

[meanbossart]

im so curious-- how well does DUDrow get on with the other companions? I've only seen your art and going off that I feel like: he gets along with Shadowheart, Gale I think he borderline cant stand, and Wyll/Lae'zel/Karlach I have no idea how he'd feel about them but id love to know!

So, funfact, because I was not familiar with these kinds of games at the time I played BG3, I practically stuck with the same exact party the entire playthrough. I distinctly remember swapping Wyll in for Astarion once at the end of act 2 because I thought he NEEDED to be there to find Mizora, and I replaced Gale with Karlach when I went to kill Gortash. Otherwise... It was pretty much always just DU drow, Shadowheart, Astarion and Gale. I did this because they were the characters I liked most, so I wanted to see all they had to offer.

Anyways, I mention this because it reflects how DU drow related to everyone - which is to say that he didn't. He picked his favorites (two because he liked them, one because he has fireball) and didn't get particularly close to anyone else.

BUT, there were definitely notable dynamics!

Lae'zel: She's dead. He killed her night 3 or something. Before that he thought her annoyingly demanding and over the top. I don't think DU drow even remembers her by the end of the game.

Gale: Just to add to your original observation, Gale and DU drow have a little bit of history. Gale tries, for about half of the campaign, to pursue him romantically. DU drow keeps turning him down and is either misinterpreted or ignored, and by the time Gale does give up on him their relationship has completely soured to the point where they are constantly shooting daggers at each other. (this reflects a romance bug I got in my first run, except I didn't realize it was a bug. Either way I think its more interesting storytelling than the intended experience.)

Wyll: DU drow was profoundly frustrated by Wyll every step of the way. He found him to be incredibly naive and a bit delusional in his pursuit for heroism, and could never relate to Wyll's perspective or choices - the few he made for himself, at least. They definitely had the least in common and DU drow avoided interacting with him most of the time.

Halsin: He didn't care for Halsin much. He was vaguely helpful but by the time they got to the shadow-cursed lands DU drow had the impression he'd only been dragged here to help him clear his conscience, which he didn't appreciate. Also, he couldn't bear to have someone in camp be taller than himself. Halsin was left behind in Act 2.

Jaheira: DU drow fucking loves Jaheira. They bickered and borderline insulted each other and had a great time doing it. He can respect anyone who will call him a monster, threaten to murder him in his sleep, and make light fun at him the next day. It helps that she's hot, also.

Minsc: Weird hamster man. Ocasionally rendered him speechless. Puzzling human being.

Karlach: He didn't get Karlach, but he was often amused by her and curious enough to want to hear what she had to say. There was a similar issue here as Wyll's where he just couldn't relate to her enough to have much to discuss, but Karlach at least had an edge to her that made her far better company. They got along pretty well when the topic wasn't serious, but when it came to the problems she actually faced their perspectives shifted significantly. DU drow thought everything could be fixed, that accepting her own demise was a cowardly thing to do - and as they approached the end, and she asked him if he would stay with her when she died, he thought she was weak. I don't know if he ever discusses it with anyone, but he feels guilty about her death to this day and sees it as personal failure.

[boo-moved]

I dunno man. At the risk of sounding stuck up and spoiled, I think writers shouldn't interact heavily with the fanbase. Everything they say will be taken as gospel, even if they didn't write that part. Same with the actors, but especially the writers

There should be boundaries set by the individuals themselves and the fandom at whole. A specific tag that the writers/actors can blacklist, the knowledge that not everything said is canon, etc. It's a huge issues- especially in recent with bg3, that fans will overstep common things to interact uncomfortably with the writers and actors.

I understand they are people too, and likely could be fans, but they also must understand that they will be held differently. For example, the thing with ascended Astarion and the writer- it's completely unfair to put that as a blanket statement. Not to mention the fact it was in A NSFW DISCORD SERVER, it is not gospel, it is their opinion.

Ascended Astarion- Astarion himself, is a character. He was written and acted for, if we are considering the ascended ending a fetish, then his entire arc and existence is one. You have sex with him, to even do the full romance you have to fuck him, even if you know of his issue with it. He was written to be sexy, that ending was a reflection of him giving into the cycle. It's not a good ending, but it's well written in regards for his character.

Not to mention the fact not everyone is romancing Astarion with that ending. It can't be a fetish because of this fact. The writer can have their opinions, thoughts on how they wrote it, but it's putting a very general blanket over what should be nuanced. This is simply one example of boundaries needing to be set with individuals in the writing and acting team interacting with fans.

Not to mention the sexual content seen and reviewed on twitter and all these other places. There may be some artists that are uncomfortable with this, having such a large view on their art that isn't sfw in nature. The line between artist and viewer is increasingly becoming blurred, which when it comes to this- isn't a good thing.

When developers take into account fan opionions and change their story fundamentally before it even had a chance to bloom? When they look at the pits for this? When they add a character to fuck in game just because the amount of thirst written about him? It's not a good decision, when they focus so much on the 'face' of the game and leave other characters in the dust in comparing the amount of dedication and time spent. It isn't good writing, it's giving in.

Say what you will, but you shouldn't bend dev's ears and demand or cry for more content for these minimal things, when a large part of the game is unfinished. There's a reasons huge communities have bloomed around fanfiction, it's fun to imagine, fun to think about what *could* happen.

[seldaryne]

"Wyll's quest regarding the Wyrmway is now a subquest instead of part of his main quest."

"Wyll's quest regarding Ravengard will now more reliably and frequently receive updates in Act III."

so mechanically speaking then, was the demotion of quest status in the first point required for them to implement the functionality of the second or??? because i genuinely don't understand why it became a subquest, especially when the game's structure already allows you to just ignore quests & move on to the next area if you want. most of the patch notes that directly mention wyll are bug-related or scripting flow, which i don't have a problem with (bug fixes are great, we love those). i'd love to hear any thoughts about this, though, because i really can't think of a reason why it had to become a subquest?

i also initially read that second point as planning for future updates to wyll's content but at a second glance i think it may just be referring to journal updates? i don't know, i'd like to believe my initial reaction was the correct one but... yknow. anyway i maintain that this is yet Another example of some really goddamn weird choices on the developmental end of things. if the companion quests exist on a sliding scale of 'most related to current main storyline to least,' wyll is very much at the top end of things. optimistic thought is that a lot of his scrapped content existed in the parts of act 3 that were cut, but i would think that as a studio you'd see that & make an effort to level things out with how much screentime the other companions have. at the bare minimum, your player base shouldn't be able to clock so many weird holes in his story arc where it's clear that something else was supposed to be offered.

i'm also not saying that the other companion arcs weren't clunky in some areas & didn't need a bit of help, but the disparity here makes deprioritizing those edits seem like a more logical course of action. like there's a difference between some slightly unpolished scenes vs. something that feels fundamentally lacking in a lot of structural ways, especially when you get into the finer points of the comparisons. act 3 imo is the one that feels the most bare-bones to me. like yes, there's Stuff there visually and quests too but it doesn't feel as lived-in as acts 1 & 2. i would say that the underdark to ketheric section feels the most dense, content-wise, and i don't think it's a coincidence that it's the bracket of the game i enjoy the most. i maintain that giving wyll's storyline the attention it needs would not only help with the character arc itself, but also pad out the quieter stretches of act 3. at this point i don't really see how they'd be able to add in the upper city without either completely changing the trajectory of the third act (so like, almost definitely something we Will Not See Happen & understandably so from a production standpoint. weird post-release editing aside, it is still a finished game.) & i'm also not sure what a DLC would look like here because the main story feels pretty complete too. off the top of my head, maybe one where you follow wyll & karlach into avernus would work, but that's worldstate dependent & probably wouldn't get made for that reason.

all that to say, from where i'm standing it really seems like giving wyll the same respect other companions are offered would by extension fix some of the act 3 issues, without having to release an entirely new area of the game (i'd love it i just don't think it's realistic lmao). like i know why/what the factors are that led to wyll getting the short end of the stick, it's bullshit but it's not the first time we've seen black characters handled unfairly by devs (& fans), but beyond that it's literally just. so confusing to me on the basis of writing alone. why wouldn't you use the character with that many ties to the titular city of the game more? why isn't he more integral to the story when it really seems like he has every reason to take the spotlight in certain areas?? like that's a fantastic resource of a character to use to move the narrative along and Yet.

idk. this started off as just a reaction to patch notes but it's so unbelievably frustrating to watch it keep happening every patch.

[greyias]

Farewell Act 2

After a boss fight that went far smoother and quicker than it should have, it is time to bid a farewell to these lands of darkness, and move on to the final portion of the game. I am only sad because I'm approaching the end and my precious Tadfools' adventure will be coming to a close.

(Shhh. Shhh. Everything Rosymorn Monastery totally counts for this list. Let's call it Act 1.5, because the game kept insisting that I was somehow irrevocably altering things by heading there. So it counts.)

In the spirit of tradition, before we finally reach the big city, let us reflect on the good times in ze middle:

Gale breaking my heart this entire act ♥

Swindling a researcher into taking an owlbear egg instead of a Githyanki egg (that is currently being nursemaided back at camp). Feeling guilty about the consequences of said action and trying to distract her with song while Astarion steals it back. This fails miserably.

Astarion and Ari teaming up to steal from the rudest eagles in Faerun

Ari nearly blowing up Githyanki mountain by impulsively grabbing a mace. For a puzzle she had already solved and had everything needed to do properly

Ari and Astarion splitting the party in the midst of madly fleeing for their lives from angry githyanki in order to grafitti Vlaakith's portrait as revenge for making Lae'zel cry

Alternatively, what happens if you fail a dexterity check on vandalizing Vlaakith's portrait

Gale's awkward attempts at communicating how hot he found it when Ari kicked shadow ass

Honestly? Getting jumped by the five million shadow creatures who nearly one-shotted poor Ari in a single round, because it meant the rest of the party had to get extremely creative in order to save her (including the squishiest Gale misty stepping right into heart of danger as he was the one who could get to her fastest throw a potion on her)

Accidentally breaking Wyll's heart because Ari really wanted to dance

Just poor Wyll in general getting shot down constantly. Poor guy, you'll find love at some point

Me wasting an entire Sunday because I got so offended the game locked me out of a fashionable and useful armor because I looted a chest 48 hours before a patch that fixed it, I decided to temporarily install mods to get it back. Resulting in me accidentally deleting the data folder of the game and having to reinstall the whole game

Everything about their adventure in the House of Healing

Also the entire Waning Moon Experience, including Toilet Skeleton

The most talkative door in the land

Ari shoving her hand into a writhing mass of tentacles, dislocating her shoulder in the process

The most ridiculous series of events leading up to the Gale romance scene. Ari still has a dislocated shoulder this entire time

Ari's lute playing is better than ogre sex. Apparently.

Getting banned from the Emerald Enclave by the two druid jerks because Ari dared to innocently pick up a book owned by literally no one

Gauntlet of Shar Anvil Chorus

The Spider Incident

A patch 3 bug making it so that Ari and Astarion have all of their important conversations while never making eye contact, as if they're crossing their arms and shouting supportive statements over their shoulders. A++ adds to the Frienemy Dynamic they have going on

Accidentally squishing Astarion with an elevator like Wile E Coyote. It really was an accident I swear.

The Shadowfell sequence was so epic and well done. Nothing funny about it, just very well executed all around.

Gortash's creepy collection of brains

Ari being so persuasive, she talked a devil into just going back to the hells rather than deal with her

Ari being so persuasive she made Ketheric Thorm feel bad enough about his actions that he just yeeted himself into a pit of acid

Captain Planet-style summoning The Absolute to get ready for her Bachelorette Party

Aylin and Isobel, my god, they're precious and I love them with my whole heart

Alfira asking Ari to do a duet to cheer up the kids, and just a perfect way to end this darkest of acts

Goodbye Act 2, your mood whiplash threw me for a loop. Somehow despite that, you provided almost as many crazy shenanigans as Act 1. I forgot to document half of them, and probably forgot to list even more. Despite all your gloomdark, you brought much laughter and goodtimes. And now... the Tadfools must head to their final destination.