I don’t think I have played another game where online guides have been quite so useless. Sure, there is an easy path through the game, probably a “correct” path, and by slavishly following it, there would be an objectively best outcome. I have definitely done that with these sorts of games before.
In BG3, though, I have been messing up big time. Making poor decisions, closing out whole sections of the plot.
I gave the artifact that Shadowheart has been carrying around to the Githyanki, for instance. I’m not sure you’re supposed to do that, but the game took it in stride and it turns out there is plot around that.
I didn’t save Isobel or the inhabitants of the Last Light Inn. That sanctuary is now a graveyard. Which was unfortunate, because it means, along with every other denizen of the inn, the giver of the quest to lift the shadow curse, and incidentally to recruit Halsin to your party, was dead, dead, dead.
It finally occurred to me that we have something for that.
I tried the revivification spell, but that can’t be cast on NPCs. Then… I tried Speak with the Dead.
That did the trick. He gave us the quest, Halsin told us our next step, and…
Halsin told us that the child that could lift the curse had been squirreled away in the plane of Shadowfell. He’d go get him, no problem, but we would have to defend the portal to Shadowfell while he was away. I failed at that.
…and then I respeced Gale and Shadowheart for Maximum Fireball and that was that.
Followed that up with finding Thaniel’s other half, and with all that done, Halsin feels he is freed up to go adventuring. I went back to the Moonrise Tower and angered the cultists there by freeing the gnome and tiefling prisoners there.
Well, nothing to do now but to deal with Shadowheart. We are at the part of her quest where she fulfills her destiny, or we deny it to her forever.
One of those choices will make her permanently leave the party. The other choice has us do an unspeakable evil, but Shadowheart stays. Hmmm. Yeah, I did read up on this part. It leads to the end of Act 2, and at the beginning of Act 3, Gale has to choose to save the world or save himself. Fun!
Anyway, super short post. Just was pretty impressed that I couldn’t foul up badly enough to completely ruin my playthrough.
