Baldur’s Gate 3 fans call for changes to AC after “missed opportunity”
Larian StudiosA series of Baldur’s Gate 3 players have sparked a substantial debate surrounding a “missed opportunity” involving characters’ AC in battle.
A game as large as Baldur’s Gate 3 can be tricky to manage. Many players find themselves diving deep into the lore and loving the Dungeons & Dragons mechanics placed inside a gripping RPG. However, attempting to put a world as extensive as D&D into a game as impressive as Baldur’s Gate 3 will often lead to a few ideas that have to be left on the cutting room floor.
Alternatively, it can lead to missed opportunities, which the community has been eagerly suggesting, especially after seeing their suggestions come to fruition in the third major patch. One player has highlighted a design idea, putting AC and battle animations at the forefront of the community’s mind.
Baldur’s Gate 3 players debate over “missed opportunity” in battle
Larian StudiosPosting onto Reddit, one Baldur’s Gate 3 user explained how they “wish AC wasn’t just dodging.” They went on to explain how, during a BG3 battle, when an attack doesn’t hit, the player simply dodges the damage. While that can work well for quicker classes and characters like a Rogue or Monk, the style of dodging attacks doesn’t always work, especially when a player has a shield or heavy armor.
In Dungeons & Dragons, the DM can explain why an attack didn’t hit, stating how it hit the armor but didn’t damage the person, or that they parried it with their shield, spell, or weapon. However, that can get complicated with tricky mechanics, maths, and more. The poster highlighted how, “In a video game, all [those] systems and math are done automatically, negating the need for such a simplified AC system” in Baldur’s Gate 3, labeling the constant use of dodge “weird.”
They even suggested some variety in the animations, using the idea of raising a shield, simply taking on the attack and your armor protecting you, parrying with a spell or weapon, and more. Those suggestions came in the form of wondering if, “Depending on what’s equipped at the time and the type of attack, a different animation could play.”
After posting, the idea quickly took off, with many considering it a “missed opportunity” and explaining that “you can totally represent how an attack fails depending on by how much the roll was short.” Perhaps suggesting an algorithm for the devs to follow.
However, others thought this was likely an idea Larian had already thought of, explaining that they “feel like this is one of those ‘obvious’ [ideas] they probably thought of internally but decided to cut/ just give everyone a generic dodge just because of dev time and prioritizing. BUT yeah given more time we might get these suggestions though, it would just look really cool, and add to class flavor in the game.”
While the community is certainly split regarding whether the idea is great or a little unnecessary, most fans’ thoughts echo one user’s comment: “Imagine just hearing the sound of a hit clanking off your heavy armor as a not hit and gives a satisfying 0 dmg number. Larian please make it happen.”
Currently, there’s no word regarding this idea’s implication into the game, but if patch three is anything to go by, Larian could be taking it to mind in future updates.
