Summary
Baldur’s Gate 3has a level cap of 12, which becomes problematic when many players hit it well before the halfway point of Act 3.Larian had good reasons for introducing the level cap, which included spells that would break the game being introduced at higher levels. Another issue is balancing enemy encounters with a party of a level higher than level 12. However, this also brings in other problems, such as removing character improvements to work towards and thus motivation to complete side quests beyond exploration and story purposes.
A way to solve this in a future sequel toBaldur’s Gate 3would be to introduce a feat system, where accumulated XP could be rewarded with legendary feats, much like how legendary boons are granted at high levels inDungeons and Dragons. This would solve the problem of introducing needlessly complicated spells for every battle and would avoid the need to balance enemy encounters.
Legendary Spells in Baldur’s Gate 3
Feats are usually granted every four levels inBaldur’s Gate 3,butDungeons and Dragonshas a number of exceptions that could be brought over toBaldur’s Gate 3’s sequel. There are a number of one-time-use feats and spells that could be used for this purpose, including some that are already utilized inBaldur’s Gate 3. One of these is Power Word: Kill, which is granted to theDark Urge who has embraced Bhaal as his Chosen, or a Cleric’s Divine Intervention, both of which can only be used once per playthrough but are incredibly powerful.
Being able to only use them once per playthrough means that they need to be used tactfully and with care, but if they’re used at the right moment, they can turn the tide of a battle. This isespecially important for something like Honor Mode, and especially late in the game when the player has reached their character’s level cap.
How Baldur’s Gate 3’s Sequel Could Improve Leveling
ABaldur’s Gate 3sequel could exploit this in several ways by using it to expand the list of spells or feats players could possibly obtain based on class, so that gameplay could become more tactical at later levels, but also so that there is something to work towards to gather more XP once the level cap is reached. Now that thenewPlayer’s Handbookis due to be released soon, with changes to all the classes, andONE DnDsoon to be released as well, there are bound to be legendary spells, feats, and actions for each class that the developer ofBaldur’s Gate 3’s sequel can choose from to give as options for higher level characters.
These legendary actions could be used once per playthrough, and could either give one effect like Power Word: Kill, or a selection ofeffects to choose from with Divine Intervention. This would make a character feel more powerful and versatile, and make completing quests and exploration feel more rewarding than reaching the level cap and continuing the game for tens of hours with no more character progress, even if there is loot to be found.
Perhaps once characters gather enough XP, they could get a selection of feats or spells to choose from depending on their class. This would also encourage replayability forBaldur’s Gate 3’s sequel, and make the game more tactical, as players try out different feats and spells for different builds.
