Larian Studios will be launching Baldur’s Gate 3 into Steam Early Access on PC in August (if everything goes according to plan). Before then, however, it released a new blog post on Steam detailing the various features of combat and stealth. The most important change from previously is that party members will now have a turn order which is based on their initiative.
A neat twist on this is that party members that are next to each other in the turn order can act simultaneously. This extends to co-op as well with other players able to act together if they’re next to you in the turn order. Combat is also quicker and much snappier than before thanks to tweaks in animation.
“We invested heavily into what drives our animation pipeline, and specifically made tweaks to improve the feel and motion in combat. The increased brevity and flow is down to many, many changes shaving off microseconds (and sometimes entire seconds). For example, another character’s turn will begin—behind the scenes—as the previous character is ending their animation. Even things as simple as combining move animations with the hit of a melee strike shaves seconds off combat.”
Stealth is also an important component of the game and there are various conditions that influence it. In a clear area, you’re always visible while lightly obscured areas require a stealth check. Enemies with darkvision will be able to see you in lightly obscured areas but in heavily obscured areas, a stealth check will take place. Putting out torches and other lights for enemies can become imperative for getting a good critical hit in.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is planned for PC and Google Stadia. Stay tuned for more details on its early access launch in the coming month.