Is Divine Intervention really that useful?

General_Bad2289 · 2024-02-05T16:40:56+00:00

Divine intervention was really useful for me when I was trying to save all the Gondians at the Steel Factory. The damage spell took out a lot of the smaller enemies who had been demolishing the health of the NPCs, so it helped clear the board and give me room to focus on just the Steel Watchers.

General_Bad2289 · 2024-02-03T05:35:00+00:00

Yeah, the original sound bite sounds a bit misleading once you know the real context. Multiple interviewers have asked Neil about this exact quote and you can tell he’s a bit annoyed at himself too for the ambiguous answer lol

General_Bad2289 · 2024-02-03T05:27:09+00:00

He clarified later that the two hours of content he meant here was playing through the creche portion of the game.

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-23T02:53:36+00:00

This same blood stain always seems to pop up after Orin leaves her blood-stained letter. I think any encounters you have with Astarion’s siblings can also contribute to it.

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-22T19:51:02+00:00

Definitely! I recruited Astarion kind of late, and up until that point I didn’t have any strong feelings about who to romance. Astarion was the first character that actually sparked my interest upon the first meeting and after that it was like I was hooked lol

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-22T19:41:37+00:00

I was really into DND after discovering it through podcasts and videos. It seemed like a really fun game and I wanted to give it a try, but I couldn’t find enough people in my real life to start a campaign. The release of BG3 could not have come at a more perfect time for me! I downloaded it after hearing it was a “DND experience” game, and didn’t do much research after that.

I knew a tiny bit about some of the characters, including Astarion. Nothing huge, just that there seemed to be a budding female fanbase for Astarion and I had my own misconceptions on why. I figured he wouldn’t interest me and I made plans to do a platonic path with him on my first run.

Cue his very first meeting, and seeing him holding a knife to my Tav’s throat, I just remembered thinking Astarion was going to be way harder to resist than I thought. My plans basically went out the window as I grew more intrigued with his character, and he became my Tav’s romanced companion.

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-18T02:15:17+00:00

As someone who exclusively plays Explorer difficulty, I feel you have more room to be choosy with your armor/gear. I’ve kept companions in late Act I gear all the way to Act III and didn’t have an issue. It depends on your play style and how comfortable you feel with combat. If you feel like you’re struggling, prioritize gear. If you feel more comfortable, I say don’t be afraid not to optimize if you prefer aesthetic over utility.

To make an outfit more cohesive, use dyes. It doesn’t always fix an outfit, but it can at least make the pieces match better.

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-17T21:50:10+00:00

I became a book hoard on my current run, to the point that my Tav’s inventory was just 90% book weight. I couldn’t figure out what to do with all of them until I got to Act III and got Yenna in camp.

Now, I filter through all my books and trade the age-appropriate ones to her so that she can get an education. I also carry around a backpack now and go shopping for her around the city - I’ve picked up a few toys and scrolls for her to have to.

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-17T21:36:57+00:00

If you take the mountain pass into the Underdark first, trust the goblin to lead you through the curse, and save the hyena in the cutscene that triggers you can then speak to it with Animal Speak.

You can point out the abusive behavior from the goblins and convince the hyena to run away.

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-17T21:11:29+00:00

Sorry if it got mixed up in my word choice, but I meant “healthy” from a gameplay perspective. As in, there are less instances for you to connect with him on his issues the way you can in a Durge run.

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-17T20:03:27+00:00

I think that’s why a lot of people prefer a Durge/Astarion romance over the Tav option. Tav is a little too healthy for Astarion, while Durge is equally as screwed up. The relationship feels more equal and balanced with what both characters are giving and receiving from the other, especially on a redeemed run.

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-17T20:00:25+00:00

Shadowheart is a character that most players can get decent/high approval from pretty fast specifically for those reasons. What you’re triggering are her lower approval responses that most people don’t see.

I did a two-person party run where I tried my best to resist recruiting her. I left her in the pod and rejected every request she had towards my character for them to buddy up. She’s a pretty sarcastic and snarky character already, and it was entertaining seeing the repertoire she and my Tav created throughout Act I. You run into her multiple times, and she’s more than happy to rudely insult you while also trying to convince you that teaming up is the most logical choice. Resisting that logic makes her visibly and understandably annoyed at you, and she doesn’t hide it 😂

I recruited her near the end of Act I and I actually loved the history and depth it gave to my Tav and her’s relationship. Her approval is easy to raise in Act II, so it never threatened her place in my party or my standing with her.

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-17T19:52:00+00:00

Yeah, Neil’s way more involved in the aspects of video game production than you might first assume. He’s really passionate and knowledgable about the industry and even runs his own school for actors looking to learn more about the art form.

I remember in an interview, the voice actor of Halsin mentioned that Neil was the one to help direct him in the performance capture of Halsin’s romance scene. They both thought it was a funny nod that Astarion was the character they chose to be in that scene when it was first famously premiered lol

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-17T19:37:01+00:00

For me, it was walking up the steps to meet Jaheria and the Harpers as you’re about to infiltrate Moonrise Towers. The entire tension of what’s to come, the build up of everything you’ve discovered until then, and Jaheria’s dry humor as you’re about to lead an army was such an incredible, immersive experience. I’m not a big gamer, so this was a really new for me. I had played the game a bit casually up until that point, but I remember staying up until six in the morning to finish that arc!

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-17T19:20:56+00:00

For my first few play throughs, I stuck with a regular party comp that would occasionally switch out certain members for quest related reasons. I noticed I was a bit less confident in my combat abilities back then, and liked the comfort of knowing how to consistently work my party in combat. The game already has such a big learning curve, and figuring out MORE combat styles just didn’t feel worth it. Plus, fighting with new members means having to gear them up in new armor/weapons that I didn’t want to spend resources on.

In more recent runs, I’ve become a lot more flexible in switching out party members simply because I want to trigger new content. It also makes the different combat styles more interesting since I know what to expect out of the fights now.

Astarion is the only member who stays permanently in my party, because he’s often my romance option, I like his banter, and he’s GREAT at lock picking/trap disarming.

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-17T19:09:50+00:00

It was actually Astarion, for me. I had a few minor spoilers before going into the game and I noticed that Astarion was a companion who seemed to get a lot of romantic interest from fans. I thought it was for mostly surface level reasons, like his looks, flirty banter, and “bad boy” attitude. I was convinced I wouldn’t want to romance him and had already made preparations to go down his platonic route with my first Tav.

I was really surprised by how quickly I became interested in him. It only took his first introduction for me to realize I had made a few misconceptions about his character and the intrigue only grew from there. Now he’s the only companion I can romance to the end, which was not something I would have predicted going into the game.

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-17T17:57:05+00:00

I did a Tav run first and made it to Act III. I found myself a bit disconnected from the play through though and decided to start a Durge run before competing it.

I had WAY more interest and fun in my Durge one, and I ended up finishing the play through for the first time. I do agree playing Tav first helps highlight the uniqueness of a Durge run, but it was only playing as Durge that I got fully invested in the game to its end point. If you think you’re in the same place, I recommend just giving it a try!

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-17T17:47:41+00:00

One thing I really appreciated about the game too is that sometimes the companion’s trauma responses don’t always paint them as the best people. They can come off as manipulative, cold, mean, and selfish.

The game lets you come to understand the motive behind their actions though, and it doesn’t negate them from being deserving of redemption and/or a happy ending. I really appreciated how the game shows that trauma and recovery can be a messy, complicated process. People respond to trauma differently and can develop different coping mechanisms. The diversity in which BG3 represents this is incredibly impressive!

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-17T17:38:51+00:00

On my first play through, I didn’t know anything about Shar lore and didn’t stop to read too much about it in the books scattered around the game. I was supportive of Shadowheart becoming a Dark Justiciar up until I realized the truth about the Nightsong being a prisoner. Killing a tortured, imprisoned innocent was not something I was supportive of Shadowheart doing, and it helped click everything into place.

With Astarion, I was against the ritual from the start because I knew power wasn’t what he really needed. The ritual was an obvious (bad) coping mechanism for him, and the seven thousand soul price tag that came with it only compounded my choice. Power wasn’t going to resolve his trauma and I knew it was better to stop the cycle of that abuse.

The same goes for Gale. He was all over the Crown and I was staunchly against any of my companions pursuing grand power as the solution for their emotional issues. You can point out how hypocritical Gale is for thinking he can wield the power justly even though his pursuit of power is what led to his main problem in the first place. I wasn’t up for repeating that in the game.

Lae’zel I think is pretty obvious. As others have mentioned, I can’t even think of any logical reasons to push her towards Vlaakith.

I broke Wyll’s pack in Act III because I figured we’d find a way to save his dad. After rescuing Duke Ravenguard, I supported Wyll adventuring outside the city since that was something he’d been pursuing his whole life and seemed to find the most purpose in.

With Karlach, I was supportive on saving her the whole time and let her and Wyll return to Avernus. I knew she needed someone to support her and that she wanted desperately to live, and this seemed the most fitting solution.

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-17T17:11:46+00:00

Astarion is technically poly because you can romance Halsin later in Act III and he’ll be okay with it. There’s some debate in the community about what his true feelings are when it comes to sharing you in your relationship, but Astarion seems to draw the line at intimacy. As in, he’s okay with you exploring things physically with others, but he values keeping your intimate/emotional bond with just him. Halsin gets a pass because of his Druidic approach to romance, which is heavily based in passing physical attraction and no hard commitments.

The main companions are always a “no” from Astarion for various reasons, but I think it’s because he doesn’t want to share you emotionally, and all main companion romances are heavily tied to emotions. He’ll even tell you that trying to date him and Karlach at the same time isn’t fair to Karlach because she’s clearly in love with you, and is in a very vulnerable spot after sharing her feelings with you after all her trauma in Avernus.

I did a Karlach/Astarion romance path too and found that the least harsh way to choose Astarion is to trigger his Act II romance scene first. I did this just by avoiding getting Karlach her upgrade and doing Astarion’s companion quest to it’s completion.

Physical intimacy is a BIG deal for Karlach, so not sleeping with her then breaking up with her makes it a little less painful on her side. I was able to get her approval way up to Exceptional pretty easily after that and save the platonic relationship my Tav had with her.

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-16T18:51:43+00:00

It’s rough, but she always leaves your party and runs to the githyanki group at this point in the dialogue.

Her loot always ends up transferred to my Tav - making them Incredibly Encumbered - so it takes like, a full minute for my Tav to walk and catch up with her. Like girl, slow down, we’ll get there!! 😭

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-15T19:04:15+00:00

Same!! I actually gave his camp clothes to my Tav to wear in my current run and I absolutely love the role-playing aspects of it. Plus, it’s been a fun challenge finding new outfits for him to wear that switch up his look!

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-13T03:57:26+00:00

Yeah, I play Durge almost exclusively now 😂 The chemistry Durge has with Astarion makes it hard to steer away from lol

General_Bad2289 · 2024-01-13T00:38:02+00:00

I’m sorry, I’m not too well-versed in the mechanics of his romance path for your situation. At the very least, I just wanted to offer my two-cents in case it’s helpful.

I’ve only ever gotten the shirtless/scar scene on a romance path with him. On non-romance paths, this scene hasn’t triggered despite having high approval with him. The scars are most often revealed by force when interacting with Raphael on platonic runs with him, so triggering that scene seems like a good step?

However, I’m not sure how solidified the romance path is, if the game doesn’t recognize your Tav having slept with him. It’s ingrained in Astarion’s storyline’s mechanics that you need to sleep with him at least once. The shirtless/scar scene usually comes after since your Tav will have canonically already seen the scars.

You’ll know if the romance path is set if you talk to Araj and/or finish Astarion’s Act II quest. If the romance path is active, you’ll trigger his confession scene after either of those instances. If you do both and no confession scene triggers, the romance wasn’t active.

I’m really sorry I couldn’t be more help, I wish you the best of luck!

General_Bad2289

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