In this Baldur’s Gate 3 Combat Mechanics Guide – How to Succeed in Combat, we’ll be covering all the details that go into combat. Things like Initiative, Advantage and Disadvantage, Spell Slots, Attacks, Armour and more! If you’ve been having a tough time in combat, then this video is for you!

Baldur’s Gate 3 Combat Guide

Baldur’s Gate 3’s combat can be quite complex to new players, and those who are unfamiliar with 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons, which is what the game is modeled after. You might be wondering why your hit chance is so low, or why your spells never seem to deal damage. In this Baldur’s Gate 3 Combat Guide, we’ll show you what to do, and give you some tips on things you probably shouldn’t do. Let’s start with Initiative as this is the first thing that happens every combat.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Combat Guide – Initiative

The first thing that happens in Baldur’s Gate 3 combat, is that each character makes what is called an Initiative Roll, which determines the turn order of each character. Once this has been completed, and the order established, this order will not change for the rest of combat, except when a character is incapacitated, downed or killed.

The Dexterity Modifier of each character is added to their Initiative Roll, so generally speaking characters that have higher Dexterity will go first, like Rogues and Rangers, but this is not always the case since there is still a roll made, and they may roll poorly, while other characters roll highly.

Going first in Baldur’s Gate 3 combat is very important, just like in Divinity Original Sin 2, because you can often eliminate or incapacitate an enemy or two before they attack you preventing a lot of damage to your party. One great way to do this is by Surprising enemies, because Surprised enemies won’t gain an Action on their turn. You can Surprise enemies quite often by Hiding and attacking them before they see you.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Combat Guide – Actions, Bonus Actions and Movements

Each character gains one Action, one Bonus Action and a certain amount of Movement per turn in Baldur’s Gate 3 Combat, except of course if they were Surprised. If you’ve played Pillars of Eternity 2‘s turn-based mode then you’ll notice similarities almost immediately. Each character can Move up to a certain amount based on their Movement Speed, and they can Move at any time on their turn, regardless of what Actions or Bonus Actions they’ve already used.

Actions are usually Attacks, Weapon Actions (found on Weapons), or Spells, but can also include Throwing an object or an enemy, Hiding, Dashing (which extends your movement), Disengaging from an enemy, or specific Class Features.

Bonus Actions are usually specific Weapon Actions that deal less damage but have some other effect, Shoving, or Dipping your weapon in a substance. However, they can also be Spells and Class Features as well. Good players will find a way to make use of both their Action and Bonus action each turn in order to maximize the impact their character has.

There are ways to gain more Actions and Bonus Actions, such as the Fighter’s Action Surge, the Thief’s Fast Hands, or the Haste Spell. Pay attention when given a choice to select Spells or Class Features, and note whether or not something is an Action or Bonus Action. This can help you plan better what you can do in a given turn.

How Hit Chance is Calculated

Alright, so you’ve figured out Actions, Bonus Actions, and Movement, but you keep Missing your Attacks in combat. In this section of our Baldur’s Gate 3 Combat Guide we’ll discuss why you might be Missing a lot, and how you can improve your chances of landing Attacks in combat.

Armour Class

When making an attack you will roll a 20-sided die called the D20 and it will be rolled against the Armour Class (AC) of the enemy. Enemies won’t have lower than 10 Armour Class, which means that you will at least need to roll a 10 in order to hit even the weakest enemies in the game. This means by default, factoring in no bonuses or Modifiers you would have roughly a 55% chance to hit an enemy with 10 AC since rolling a 10 or higher will all be hits. This is not a very high chance in general, but there are ways to improve this.

Melee Weapons

Melee weapons use your Strength Modifier when making Attack Rolls, and Ranged Weapons use Dexterity. These are added to the D20 that is rolled in when an Attack is made and help improve your chances of landing your Attacks. For instance, if you have 16 Strength and make a melee attack, or 16 Dexterity when making a Ranged Attack, you will now add +3 to your roll, so now you only need to roll a 7 or higher, giving you a 70% chance to hit an enemy with 10 AC. You can see this is already much higher.

Note that 17 Strength or 17 Dexterity gives you the same Modifier as 16 Strength and 16 Dexterity (+3), because you only improve your Modifiers at every even number. Pay attention to your Ability Scores during Character Creation, when selecting Feats and choosing equipment, and aim for an even number on your Strength or Dexterity, whichever you use for attacking.

Finesse Weapons

Finesse Weapons can use either your Strength or Dexterity Modifier, so if you wish to Melee & Range Attack effectively on a martial character you will want high Dexterity. If you are a Strength character, you should try to avoid making ranged attacks if you can melee instead, and if you are a Dexterity character you should avoid melee attacks with anything other than Finesse Weapons. The one exception is Monks, who can use Dexterity regardless of the Weapon they are using as long (as it’s not two-handed).

Improving Attack Rolls

There are more things that help to improve your Attack Rolls though, and the next one is Proficiency. Each character in the game will have Proficiency with different Weapons and Armour based off Race and Class choices, and using a Weapon you have Proficiency with will grant you +2 to your Attack Rolls on Balanced and Tactician, and +4 on Explorer. As your character gains levels this will increase to +3 at level 5, or +5 on Explorer, and +4 at level 9 (+6) on Explorer. Note this is the same for all characters in the game, regardless of Race, Class, or Multiclassing.

This means at the beginning of the game if you make a melee Attack Roll with 16 Strength, or a Ranged Attack Roll with 16 Dexterity AND you are Proficient with the weapon, you will add +5 to your Attack Roll making it so you only need to roll a 5 or higher to land your attacks. That is an 80% to hit against an enemy with 10 Armour Class. You can see how this is already better.

As your character gains levels and improves their Ability Modifiers their chance to hit will naturally improve, but so will enemy Armour Class, so you will need to find more ways to improve your chances of success. So let’s get into those.

How to Improve your Hit Chance

Besides having a good Ability Modifier with the type of weapon you are using, and making sure you have Proficiency in the Weapon Type you are using, there are other things you should and shouldn’t do in combat to improve your chances of hitting an enemy. We’ll go over this next in our Baldur’s Gate 3 Combat Guide.

Make sure you’re not wearing Armour you are NOT Proficient with, because this penalizes your Attack Rolls severely by giving you Disadvantage on your Attack Rolls. Disadvantage means that you roll your D20 twice, and you take the lower of the two values. Rolling 2 dice makes you much more likely to roll a lower number with one Die, and then you will Miss when you are forced to use it.

Make sure to upgrade your equipment. As you gain more equipment in the game, you will find +1 and +2 versions of Weapons which will add +1 or +2 to not only your Damage Rolls, but also to your Attack Rolls. This lowers the number you need to reach when attacking an enemy in melee or at range with said weapon, in order to trigger a hit.

Bless is also a fantastic way to boost your hit chance early on in the game. This spell improves the Attack Roll of each character effected by +1-+4 on each attack as long as the spellcaster of this spell maintains Concentration on it. It’s best used at the beginning of combat to affect as many turns as possible.

Ranged Characters

If you are a ranged character, make sure you are not standing next to an enemy when making a Ranged Attack, as this will also give you Disadvantage on your Attack Roll, even if it is against a different enemy who is not near you. Either move away first, risking an Attack of Opportunity, or Disengage and reposition your ranged character instead if possible. Note that Disengage will consume your Action, so you won’t be able to attack, but the enemy can’t make an Attack of Opportunity against you.

Rogues

Rogues gain Cunning Action: Disengage at level 2, allowing them to Disengage as a Bonus Action, so they can safely move away from melee units and make a Ranged Attack, OR make a Melee Attack and then Disengage and safely move away.

The High Ground

Another thing that Ranged characters should try to do every chance they get, is to try to get above the target they are attacking. Being at a slightly higher elevation than your target will provide you with +2 to your Attack Roll, which will change that 80% into a 90% if the target has 10 AC. Note that attacking targets that are higher than you will apply a -2 penalty instead, so try to avoid this if you can.

Also remember to move up if you’re out of the range of your weapon. Ranged Attack made outside a weapon’s range will also have Disadvantage.

Hiding

Another great way to improve the chances of Attack Rolls on ranged characters is by being Hidden when you attack. Characters that attack enemies that cannot see them gain Advantage on their attacks, allowing them to roll 2 dice, taking the higher of the two values for their roll. And that’s on top of all the other bonuses like Ability Modifier, Proficiency, and if you’re above your target, they all still get added.

Hiding is an Action which means you cannot do this in Baldur’s Gate 3 Combat and attack in the same turn, but you can begin combat Hidden easily enough, giving you Advantage on your first Attack. It’s much harder for melee units to do this, and generally it’s easier to pull this off from range. Pay attention to the Armor your ranged characters are wearing though, some gives you Disadvantage on Stealth Checks, and that can hamper this tactic tremendously.

Rogues gain Cunning Action: Hide at level 2 also, allowing them to Hide as a Bonus Action, so they can actually Hide in combat easily and then attack with Advantage every turn if handled properly. This is the easiest way to gain Sneak Attack with them, and boosts the likelihood they’ll connect with their attacks at the same time.

Melee Characters

Melee Characters operate very differently, and they want to get as close to the enemy as possible when they can so they can get their attacks off. Movement and positioning are a huge part of playing a Melee character, and knowing where to be and when to be there is not always easily understood.

Melee Enemies

Enemies follow the same rules as the player for the most part, so when positioned next to a ranged enemy for example, these enemies have a Disadvantage on their Attack Rolls, making your party less likely to be hit. You will also have the option to do an Attack of Opportunity if they try to move away, unless they Disengage, but then they won’t be able to attack if they do, which is great.

Moving up to Melee enemies also prevents them from getting to your ranged characters, because of the Attack of Opportunity mechanic, so sometimes your melee characters will intercept enemies instead. Both are valid strategies that you will need to employ depending on what is happening on the battlefield.

And the best way to increase your hit chance against enemies with melee characters, besides the things I’ve already mentioned, is by using Weapon Actions or Class Features against them. For instance, some weapons allow you to set the Off Balance Status Effect by using their Weapon Action, and this makes it so attacks (from anyone) against the target have Advantage.

Attacking Prone enemies grants Advantage to your melee attacks, and some Weapon Actions, Spells and Class Features trigger this effect. Dazing enemies, removes the AC bonus they gain from Dexterity, making them easier to Hit. Sometimes these can be used as Bonus Actions, and you should use them before your Attack Action to improve your chances of landing a Hit.

• Ranger – Ensnaring Strike
• Battle Master (Fighter) – Distracting Strike, Feinting Attack, Trip Attack
• Way of the Open Hand (Monk) – Flurry of Blows: Topple
• Paladin – Thunderous Smite & Bless
• Barbarian – Reckless Attack
• Rogue – Cunning Action: Hide
• Cleric – Bless

Spellcasters

Spellcasters work very similarly to ranged characters with some of their spells like: Fire Bolt, Eldritch Blast, and Guiding Bolt. These spells all target the AC of the enemy, and so you will make an Attack Roll when casting them, trying to overcome the Armour of the enemy. However in this case you use your Spellcasting Ability Modifier, which is different for each spellcasting class, instead of your or Dexterity Modifier when adding to your roll. Inflict Wounds also works like this, but is very short ranged spell, so must be cast in melee range. Keep this in mind in Baldur’s Gate 3 Combat.

For instance, if you were a Wizard casting Fire Bolt and you had 16 Intelligence you would add +3 to your Attack Roll, and then your Proficiency Bonus is added, and if you are elevated then you gain +2 to your roll as well.

Spell Exceptions

But not all Spells work this way, and some of them target a specific Ability of an enemy. Like Sacred Flame for instance, which is a Cleric Cantrip that targets the Dexterity ability of a character. In this case the enemy has to make what is called a Saving Throw against your spell, and they must roll 8 + your Spellcasting Ability Modifier + your proficiency bonus, and if they fail then you will deal 1-8 damage. You don’t gain +2 from elevation with these spells, because you are not the one rolling, the enemy is.

There are many Spells in the game that target different Abilities, and you can read what Abilities they target in the description of each spell. You can also hit T on enemies to see what their Ability Scores are, to help you better determine what types of spells you should use. For instance, an enemy is likely to Save against Sacred Flame if they have high Dexterity, since they add their Dexterity Modifier to their Saving Throw making it more likely they will succeed in their Saving Throw.

Defense

On the defensive side that remember many of the inverse of these things are true as well. The higher your AC, the less likely it is for you to take damage. The higher your Ability Scores are, the less likely a spell can affect you. If you’re above the enemy, they are more likely to miss. If you are standing near ranged enemies, they will have Disadvantage, and if you’re Prone, they will have Advantage on their melee attacks, etc.

We hope this has given you a better idea of how to tackle Baldur’s Gate 3 Combat. If you want more BG3 guides be sure to check out our Baldur’s Gate 3 Beginners Guide.

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In this Baldur’s Gate 3 article/video I’m going to give you Baldur’s Gate 3 First Impressions of the full version of the full game. We got a review code about four days ago, so we didn’t have enough time in my opinion to do a proper review. I don’t think it would be fair to give the game a proper review after that amount of time. Instead, here I’m just going to kind of do my first impressions after about the first 40 hours or so of the game and tell you what I think.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Review Impressions Hands-On Spoiler-Free

This is going to be a completely spoiler-free Baldur’s Gate 3 First Impressions. The gameplay we’ll be showing in the background is from Act 1. So if you’ve played Early Access you know this is stuff you’ve probably already seen before but with a little bit new UI etc. You will still be very familiar with this and I will not be talking about story spoilers at all. In about 40 hours, we managed to get through Act 2 or what I think is the beginning of Act 3. For an average player, for someone who hasn’t played Early Access, it will probably be closer to 50 or 60 hours to complete Act 2.

If you’re familiar with Early Access not too much has changed. The beginning parts of the game will have some differences and will feel familiar to you, speeding up your journey through Act 1. Those things out of the way let’s talk about Baldur’s Gate 3.

It’s a Matter of Choice

The first thing I can say about Baldur’s Gate 3 is that it’s the first RPG that I have felt like I didn’t regret a single decision that I made. A lot of RPGs, you’re either stuck with a good option, a neutral option, or a bad option. But in Baldur’s Gate 3, I felt like every decision I made was the right one for my character. Some RPGs give you many options that leave you overwhelmed by the sheer amount of choices.

I think Larian did a phenomenal job here of not giving you too many options but still giving you a really good range that there are enough choices for everyone out there. What’s utterly incredible about this is that there are choices there that are based on your class, race, background and even the characters that enter the dialogue. This won’t be the same for everyone, as it is down to your own personal character.

Tailor Made for You

Though there aren’t a million dialogue options, it is tailor-made to your character and I think that’s what makes this game so special. It makes it feel like Baldur’s Gate 3 is made just for you when playing. In my opinion, because of these narrative options, the game provides very strong and compelling characters. They are interesting, and well-acted, making you interested in just about every single character you meet in the game. You end up wanting to hear what they have to say and ultimately wanting to learn more about the game’s world.

Compelling Dialogue

I can’t remember the last time I played a game where I felt compelled to listen to every single line of dialogue that was spoken. I have played tons of RPGs and we have covered a number of RPGs on our channel/website. Not one that comes to mind as of late that really compares. The ones that I can think of that maybe come close are Mass Effect or Dragon Age Origins. Games that really draw you in, in terms of characters that keep you engaged to find out things. Often you forget what you’re doing, or what your quest objective is because I’m pretty happy spending hours finding out info. I typically wouldn’t do that in another game.

As I have had limited time to review this game before the review embargo, I find myself pressed for time to get guides up. With that time crunch in mind, the average player won’t have that added time pressure. This means they will feel even more engrossed and immersed than I even was, if that’s even possible!

Exploration

Piggybacking off of this, exploration in the game also adds a ton to the experience. The game world is large. While not completely open-world, the game kind of feels that way. You can tell the narrative is more linear in terms of narrative design, driving you through the game similar to that of Baldur’s Gate 2. However, you’re still picking up quest objectives along with the main narrative route and there’s plenty to see and explore. Exploration is rewarding if you’re paying attention. There’s plenty to see and do without getting bored. You’re always finding new things and I guarantee that in successive playthroughs you will still discover more.

NPC Interactions Like No Other

What stands out in Baldur’s Gate 3 is that NPCs and characters you interact with often appear in later Acts (based on how it went in Act 2) and you find out what happens to them. Often in games, characters will just give you gold or some type of reward and that’s it. Thanks for playing, here’s your reward, that will be it. Here, you will see whether they survived, find out what perils they’ve faced and the weight of your decisions.

Furthermore, I think this has been done in a way here that’s never been done in any other RPG. A lot of times in some of the best RPGs there are characters you can interact with, their stories advance and you’ll meet up later. Usually, you will find them in the same location, they stay in the same location, for example in the world of Mass Effect.

However, in Baldur’s Gate 3 they are constantly moving around. You will find them pop up in new locations, they’re advancing their story. Something that the developer Larian has done really cleverly in this game is they’ve created little checkpoints throughout the game. These advanced events in the game world so the world state is shifting when you hit certain points of the game. It changes previous areas of the game that you’ve already been to.

Checkpoints

Some people were asking me pre-launch when you hit one of these checkpoints whether it will give you a warning to wrap everything you were doing before, before commencing and whether you can you go back. And the answer is “yes”. While you might not find everything stays the same as before passing these checkpoints, I find this incredibly special. In many RPGs, this isn’t really a possibility. Often you don’t know the full extent of the ramifications of these checkpoints. I think it will be many months before we know what they all are but that was incredible for me.

Narration

Moving onto the narration of the game, it is absolutely on point, it’s outstanding. The voice acting is incredibly done and it adds something to the game. I don’t think the narration is necessary for every RPG. But when it does done well, like it is done in Baldur’s Gate 3 and in the Divinity Original Sin series it does make you wonder if it is something that RPGs need. It is the same with music in games. When a game has phenomenal music it just makes the game better, but it is not necessary to make it a good game. I feel the narrator really adds something to the game and I think people are really really gonna enjoy this aspect. If you’ve played Early Access then you know what I mean. This stays consistent the whole way.

Minor Bugs & Patching

If I were to make one critique here, is to point out even though the game does such a fantastic job of immersing you in the game’s world that when you hit a bug, it really pulls you out of it. It’s kind of like being in a trance and someone snaps their fingers right next to you and you wake up. That’s kind of what it feels like. There were a good number of bugs in this game so far from what I’ve seen. I was a bit worried about this after playing in Ghent because I saw a lot of bugs there.

Patching

I know Larian has been doing a lot of work on those bugs over the last few weeks. They’ve pushed a patch every single-day patching bugs out of the game since we’ve been playing the review copy. So I think these bugs are just gonna get wiped out over time. None of them was major, they’re just really bizarre bugs in a lot of cases. I’ll just give you a couple of examples. For example one time during character creation the fireball cantrip just disappeared from the screen. I couldn’t select it anymore with the character even though I should have been able to. Then I had a dialogue when I was in the Grove then experienced a black screen for like 30 seconds. I was like “what’s happening?”.

Casting Animations

One of the casting animations for spells had weird bugs with their animations. I’ve had a weird audio sound when I was disarming traps in one specific spot of the game. It would make a really loud noise and then it never appeared in the rest of the game. An example was when in the shadowed lands, I would load into the game and my torch would be lit which is important to this scenario. However, when I loaded the same save once again, the torch has not been lit, leaving my character in a bad situation. It would take another load for it to be lit once again, although sometimes this wouldn’t work.

Other Issues

Other issues I’ve had are with the wizard. The wizard would be in your camp sometimes when I load and other times he would not appear for the same exact save. There have been some really strange bugs in my experience, but nothing game-breaking. These odd bugs will be slowly patched out and the only reason I mention them is the immersion-breaking effect they had.

Controller Pros & Cons

As for control and how they felt. On controller they did a really good job in my opinion as it’s very intuitive. It takes you a little bit to get used to and I think players playing on a controller are going to be just fine. There’s a little bit of time that it takes to kind of get your muscle memory down as there are a lot of things you can do.

One thing I kind of wish they would have done with the controller UI is give you a lot more information that’s like readily available on your screen. You need to go hunting through in order to find the information that is more easily available compared to on a keyboard and mouse. This one little gripe I had, but otherwise they did a good job here. There is a completely different UI for controller which they must have had to be completely redesigned. I think players will find it very intuitive and easy to use.

Romance & More

The last thing I want to talk a little bit about which I know is a popular topic for Baldur’s Gate 3 is romance. Ever since the infamous bear scene, I think people have been talking about this a lot a fair bit about romance and sex in the game. I think that’s a serious understatement. I have never seen so much in an RPG.

So Much Freedom

There is so much freedom in terms of what you can do and who you can romance. I actually feel like it’s, believe it or not, harder to not romance and fall into a sex scene than it is to do it. I am almost tempted to make a guide on “How Not to Have Romance in Baldur’s Gate 3”. If you particularly like a character and want to be with them, you have to really dodge advances from others. I feel there needs to be a guide on how to or how not to.

There is a lot of romance and sex in this game. I think it’s refreshing to see that an RPG isn’t limiting creative expression in that way. Players can have the freedom to do that, that’s part of role-playing in my opinion. Finding a character that you have a bond with and exploring that is definitely something I feel like should be in more RPGs. You play games such as the outer worlds or something similar, there’s no romance. You’re like this is just not realistic at all. It is as if they played it so safely in that game when it came to romance this game.

The Naked Truth

This is the complete opposite but I would say you know if you have young kids or something probably don’t play when they’re around. Baldur’s Gate 3 is just a very adult RPG. Even though there are filters for these sorts of things, just to give you an idea, without giving any spoilers, you can make your whole party naked. I mean run around through the whole game naked, with all of your characters including all cutscenes. In combat, I’ve never seen that before in a game in my life. That’s something you can absolutely do if you want.

Final Thoughts: Game of the Year 2023?

So in summary, to wrap it up Baldur’s Gate 3 is almost exactly what I expected so far. A very story-driven heavily narrative game that makes you make tough decisions. But you also get to see the outcomes of those decisions in a story that feels like it’s tailor-made for you and that no two players will have the exact same experience Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game. That I very publicly and definitively have been stating it WILL win Game of the Year. I haven’t been saying it should win game of the year. Or it could win the game of the year I’ve literally been saying it’s going to win Game of the Year.

Full Review Coming

After seeing what I’ve seen so far I still believe this is the case we will probably have a full review of the game out in the next week. So if you want to see what our actual review score for the game is and whether I actually still think it’ll be the Game of the Year after the full game, make sure you stay tuned for that. But I’ll just say the only slight concern is the bugs.

These as I’ve said aren’t that bad these are things that are going to get patched out over time. So a couple of weeks from now they probably won’t even exist. I’ve had no performance issues in 40 hours. Not a single frame drop and I’ve had zero crashes in over 40 hours. The load times are lightning fast I’ve had no sound issues, nothing like that. Other than a few bugs here and there. The game runs like a dream and stays tuned for a full review.

What do you guys think so far if you’re playing the game let me know in the comments below.

We’ll be putting out more guides and content. In the meantime check out our latest Baldur’s Gate 3 Beginner Guide. You can drop by our BG3 wiki for all the latest info on classes, weapons, skills, interactive map and more.

The post Baldur’s Gate 3 Review Impressions Hands-On Spoiler-Free appeared first on Fextralife.

In this Baldur’s Gate 3 Beginners Guide, we’re going to show you the best tips and tricks for adventuring through the Forgotten Realms. We’ll cover everything you need to know about the game’s mechanics, skills, proficiency, feats and more so you can get a better understanding of this CRPG.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Beginner Guide – Game Mechanics

Baldur’s Gate 3 is based off of the 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons Ruleset, which uses a system that involves the rolling of a twenty-sided die called a D20 to resolve encounters and scenarios in the game world. In combat, this will be done behind the scenes by the game’s software, but players will be able to see the results of their “dice rolls” in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Ability Checks outside of combat, including dialogue, however, are handled differently and you can much more easily see the dice rolls. What’s really great about tabletop gaming on PC or Console, is that the game does all the mathematics for you, eliminating the need to remember every single thing that affects your encounter. However if you do not understand how Abilities work, you may find yourself having a tough time, so let’s begin there.

Ability Score & Ability Modifier

In Baldur’s Gate 3 Attributes are called “Abilities“. This means that Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma are all referred to as Abilities within Baldur’s Gate 3’s mechanics and context. This can be quite confusing at first, because just about every other Role Playing Game out there uses the term “Abilities” to delineate the “Skills” of a character, or some other Active or Passive function they possess. Attributes or Stats is usually what we’d refer to these as, but in BG3 they are called Abilities.

Ability Score is the number that represents each Ability (Stat) of your character, and Ability Modifier is the bonus (or penalty) you gain from your Ability Score of each Ability. To determine an Ability Modifier subtract 10 from the Ability Score and then divide the result by 2 (rounded down). For instance, if you have 17 Strength then your Ability Score for Strength is 17, and your Ability Modifier for Strength is +3. If you have 8 Dexterity then your Ability Score is 8 and your Ability Modifier is -1.  Both your Ability Scores and Ability Modifiers will dictate how successful your character is at various things throughout the game.

Ability Score & Ability Modifier

• 1 = -5
• 2-3 = -4
• 4-5 = -3
• 6-7 = -2
• 8-9 = -1
• 10-11 = +0
• 12-13 = +1
• 14-15 = +2

• 16-17 = +3
• 18-19 = +4
• 20 = +5

What Does Your Ability Modifier Affect?

The reason we begin with Ability Scores and Ability Modifiers in this Baldur’s Gate 3 Beginner Guide, is that the D20 is rolled in three different instances: Ability Checks, Attack Rolls and Saving Throws. All three of these will use your Ability Modifiers when determining their outcomes, so it’s wise to know how they are calculated.

Ability Checks

Ability Checks are rolled when performing interactions within the game world, testing a character’s “Abilities”, and often appear in dialogue, when lockpicking or disarming traps, and often when “checking” for hidden doors, items or buried loot.

These Ability Checks are accompanied by something called a Difficulty Class (DC), and that is the number you must roll with the D20 in order to “pass” the Ability Check. Baldur’s Gate 3 will determine the Difficulty Class of everything in the game, and you will need to have characters that have decent Ability Modifiers in order to pass them. The crux is that you sometimes you cannot see the DC of a hidden object, door or loot until you’ve passed or failed the check, so it’s wise to be prepared and save often in case you want to reload and try again. The following is a list of the DC of each of these general categories:

Task Difficulty DC

• Very Easy = 5
• Easy = 10
• Medium = 15
• Hard = 20
• Very Hard = 25
• Nearly Impossible = 30

You can see you only need to roll a 5 on the D20 to succeed in a Very Easy DC, while Nearly Impossible is 30. In order to even hit 30 you would need to have a very high Ability Modifier, other bonuses like Proficiency or even Expertise or Guidance, and almost a perfect 20 roll on the die. To further illustrate how this works, let’s do an example:

You and your party come to a door you cannot open, and it has a DC of 15. Astarion has 16 Dexterity, giving him an Ability Modifier of +3, so you decide to use him to try to pick the lock. Astarion would then roll the D20 and add +3 to his roll, and if the total was 15 or higher he would open the door (this means he would need to roll a 12 on the D20). However, if he should fail his roll the door will remain locked.

Attack Rolls

The second thing Ability Modifier is used for is Attack Rolls, which is when a character is attacking another character. When attacking with Weapons or Unarmed, players will roll the D20 and if their roll is equal to or higher than the target’s Armor Class (AC), they will connect with their attack. Melee Weapons and Unarmed attacks use the character’s Strength Modifier to add to their Attack Roll, and Ranged Weapons use the Dexterity Modifier. However, there are some exceptions, such as Melee Weapons that have the Finesse property, allowing the use of Dexterity instead of Strength. And the Monk’s Martial Arts Class Feature which allows them to use Dexterity instead of Strength as well.

Additionally, your Ability Modifier is then added to your Damage Roll if you successfully connected with your attack (Damage Rolls are calculated by rolling the die or dice of the Weapon used, and then adding Ability Modifier). This means not only are you more likely to hit with a Weapon if you have high Strength or Dexterity, but you will do more Damage if you do. This makes Strength and Dexterity particularly important to characters that rely on Weapons for damage, though they usually focus on one or the other.

Lae’Zel is attacking an enemy Orc that has an AC of 15. She is using a Longbow and has a Dexterity Modifier of +2. She rolls the D20 and gets an 11, and then adds +2, plus her Proficiency Bonus of +2 giving her a total of 15. This means she was successful in hitting the Orc with her arrow because she had at least 15 on her Attack Roll. She then rolls a D8 (which is the die that the Longbow uses for Damage) and gets a 4. She adds the +3 DEX Modifier, for a total of 7 Damage. Note: Proficiency is not added to the Damage Roll.

Saving Throws

Saving Throws are used to calculate the defense of a character vs. many effects or spells in the game. Each of these has its own DC, which the character must make a “saving throw” of the die against in order to protect themself. These spells and effects will target one of the 6 Abilities of the character, and they will use that specific Ability Modifier when rolling. Just like Ability Checks and Attack Rolls, you must hit the target number or higher in order to succeed at a Saving Throw.

If you are making a spell casting character such as a Wizard or Sorcerer, you want to have the highest DC you can on your spells, as this helps prevent enemies from successfully rolling a “Saving Throw”, and increases your effectiveness. Each Class has its own Ability that is used to calculate this, and this is called its Spellcasting Ability Modifier. For instance, Clerics use Wisdom to determine their Spell DC, and Wizards use Intelligence for theirs. The DC to resist one of your Spells is equal to 8 + Spellcasting Ability Modifier + Proficiency.

Your Level 5 Wizard uses the Fireball spell around a bunch of Goblins. His Intelligence is 19, so he has a Spellcasting Ability Modifier of +4. This means the DC of this Spell is 15 (8+4+3), and any Goblin who doesn’t roll at least 15 (after all their Modifiers) will take 8D6 damage (the sum of 8 rolls of a 6 sided die), and any who does will take half that amount.

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So you can see how that works, but let’s talk a bit about Proficiency in this Baldur’s Gate 3 Beginner Guide, since you might be wondering what that is!

Baldur’s Gate 3 Beginner Guide: Proficiency

All characters in Baldur’s Gate 3 have what is called a Proficiency Bonus. This is a positive modifier that increases as that character gain levels, and works somewhat similarly to Ability Modifier because it is added to D20 rolls.

Proficiency Bonus

Each player character begins the game with a Proficiency Bonus of +2 by default, increasing by +1 every 4 levels to a maximum of +4, since the level cap for Baldur’s Gate 3 is 12. This is the game’s way of making your character more powerful as its level raises, increasing its likelihood of succeeding in rolls. Note that the Proficiency Bonus is the same for all characters who are the same level, and that Class, Multiclass, and Race have no impact on this bonus.

Proficiency Bonus is only added to the D20 rolls of things that you have Proficiency in, and these are determined by a combination of your Race, Background, Class, Feats and potentially even equipment you find. This means that you will not gain this Bonus on all of your rolls, but instead only on the things your character is “proficient” at. The following is list of things Proficiency applies to:

• Attack Rolls using Weapons you’re Proficient with
• Ability Checks using Skills you’re Proficient in
• Saving Throws you’re Proficient in
• Attack Rolls with spells you cast
• Saving Throw DCs for spells you cast

Attacking with Weapons Without a Proficiency

In Baldur’s Gate 3 players do not receive a Penalty for attacking with Weapons they are not Proficient with, but instead do not use their Proficiency Bonus in their Attack Rolls. Additionally, they will not be able to use the Weapon Actions of that Weapon type.

However, when using Armor or Shields they are NOT Proficient with, they have Disadvantage on any Attack Roll they make, and they cannot cast Spells. This is really really bad, and means players should definitely avoid using Armor or Shields they do not have Proficiency in at all costs. We’ll get into Advantage and Disadvantage shortly, but for now let’s take a look at Skills.

Skills in Baldur’s Gate 3

Skills

Throughout the course of the game of BG3, Skills are used to help characters overcome obstacles and challenges. What Skills you are Proficient with will be determined during Character Creation, and are usually tied to your Class, Race and Background.

Each Skill in the game falls within an Ability, and Skills are essentially a specific aspect of that Ability. For instance, Sleight of Hand falls under Dexterity, because having faster reflexes and being more agile would help you steal things. Or for instance, Persuasion falls under Charisma, because being charismatic would help Persuade someone. Below is a list of Skills in the game and what Ability they fall under:

Strength

• Athletics

Dexterity

• Acrobatics
• Sleight of Hand
• Stealth

Intelligence

• Arcana
• History
• Investigation
• Nature
• Religion

Wisdom

• Animal Handling
• Insight
• Medicine
• Perception
• Survival

Charisma

• Deception
• Intimidation
• Performance
• Persuasion

Constitution

• None

When players make an Ability Check that also uses a Skill, they will add their Proficiency Bonus to their D20 roll if they have Proficiency in that Skill, otherwise they roll as normal (including only their Ability Modifier). Let’s take the example of Astarion trying to open the door from earlier.

You and your party come to a door you cannot open, and it has a DC of 15. Astarion has 16 Dexterity, giving him an Ability Modifier of +3, +2 for his Proficiency Bonus in Sleight of hand, so you decide to use him to try to pick the lock. Astarion would then roll the D20 and add +3 to his roll, and if the total was 15 or higher he would open the door (this means he would need to roll a 10 on the D20). However, if he should fail his roll the door will remain locked.

Dialogue, Lockpicking and Disarming are all handed with very visible D20 rolls, so you can see your Proficiency at work or not if you don’t have any. However, there are some instances when things are calculated behind the scenes, like for example when trying to spot a hidden door or buried loot. You can see the calculation on the bottom right-hand side when this occurs, but you won’t have a D20 roll screen pop up for you, so you’ll have to pay attention to what is happening on screen while you explore. If you succeed, something will become visible that wasn’t previously, but if you fail you won’t know what you missed out on.

Expertise

Expertise is an even higher form of Proficiency where the player takes their Proficiency bonus with a said Skill and doubles it. You will most often find this with Rogues and Bards

Tools

Tools are items in B3 that can help a player to do something they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do, but unlike Skills they are not tied to a specific Ability. For instance, Thieves Tools allow you to try to lockpick, but if you don’t have any then you cannot even attempt this. And likewise, a Trap Disarm Toolkit is needed to attempt disarming Traps, otherwise, you cannot even try.

Advantage & Disadvantage in BG3

There are many scenarios in the game where players will have either Advantage or Disadvantage, and these make things easier or harder for the character depending on which they have. Like many things in Baldur’s Gate 3, Advantage and Disadvantage are applied to the role of the D20. Let’s talk about this next in our Baldur’s Gate 3 Beginner Guide.

Advantage means that you roll the D20 two times when making an Attack Roll, Ability Check or Saving Throw, and use the higher of the two values. Conversely, Disadvantage means that you roll the D20 two times, using the lower of the two values. Advantage roughly doubles your chances for success, while Disadvantage roughly halves it. If we take the scenario we used earlier of the party coming to a door, and add Disadvantage, let’s see what happens:

You and your party come to a door you cannot open, and it has a DC of 15. Astarion has 16 Dexterity, giving him an Ability Modifier of +3, so you decide to use him to try to pick the lock. However, Astarion is Slightly Drunk, giving him Disadvantage. Astarion rolls the the D20 twice, getting a 6 and an 18. He’s forced to use the 6 roll, and add +3 to his roll, which adds up to 9 so he fails to open the door. Note that this scenario does not take into account Astarion’s Proficiency for the sake of simplicity.

Disadvantage is one of the worst situations you can be in while rolling in Baldur’s Gate 3, and should be avoided at all costs. While Advantage drastically improves your chances of success, and so should be sought out. Keep this in mind when deciding how to proceed with situations in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Weapons in BG3

Weapons are a huge part of BG3 and make up a big chunk of combat, since not every character can cast Spells, They can however all use Weapons. In this section we’ll take a look at how Proficiency is handled when it comes to weapons. Also how damage is calculated, and what Weapon Properties do as well as what they mean. First let’s cover Weapon Proficiency in this Baldur’s Gate 3 Beginner Guide.

Weapon Proficiency in Baldur’s Gate 3

Whenever you attack an enemy in BG3 you make what is called an “Attack Roll”, which I’ve already covered. This Attack Roll is affected by your Weapon Proficiency, so let’s take a look at how this plays out in BG 3.

You won’t be penalized for using a Weapon you aren’t Proficient in. But the likelihood of you hitting the enemy is reduced because you don’t get the added benefit of Proficiency. If you remember your Proficiency Bonus begins at +2 and increases every 4 character levels to a maximum of +4. Proficiency is particularly important at lower levels where you have less ways of increasing your chances of landing attacks.

Each character’s Weapon Proficiency is determined by their Race and Class. For example, Elves gain Proficiency with Longswords, Shortswords, Shortbows, and Longbows. And, Wizards gain Proficiency with Daggers, Quarterstaffs, and Light Crossbows. This means if you made an Elven Wizard you would have Proficiency with all 7 of these Weapon types.

Simple Weapons, Martial Weapons and Proficiency Feats

Each Weapon in BG3 falls under Simple Weapons or Martial Weapons. Simple Weapons are things like Clubs, Quarterstaffs, Shortbows, and Maces, while Martial Weapons are Weapons like Longswords, Rapiers, Longbows and Morningstars. Some Classes, have very specific Weapon Proficiency (like the Wizard), most Classes have Proficiency in Simple Weapons, and only a handful have Proficiency in Martial Weapons. It’s important to note that it is possible to have a general Proficiency (like Martial), and also have a specific Weapon Proficiency (like Longsword), which falls under Martial Proficiency. In this case, you don’t gain any extra bonuses, you are simply considered to have Proficiency in that Weapon type.

Damage Type, Damage Dice, and Weapon Properties

Every Weapon in BG3 has a damage die that is rolled when you successfully make an Attack Roll, and this damage is then applied to the target along with your Ability Modifier. For example, if you attack with a Greatclub you will roll an 8-sided die (D8), take that result and add your Strength Ability Modifier to that to get your total damage for your attack. Not every weapon uses the same die, and some are much better than others, so pay attention to what these are, and use the highest damage one you can.

Weapon Damage Type

Additionally, each weapon has a damage type, which is either: bludgeoning, piercing or slashing. This is important to note because some enemies have damage resistance against certain types of damage, and it’s possible to gain Damage Resistance yourself, such as by taking the Heavy Armor Master Feat. This means it’s a good idea to have a variety of different damage types in your group, so you don’t have a rough time against a few specific enemy groupings.

Weapon Property

Nearly every Weapon has a Weapon Property in BG3, and those that don’t are few and far between. The following is a list of Weapon Properties with a description of what they do:

• Finesse – The weapon scales with Dexterity instead of Strength if your Dexterity is higher.
• Light – Can be dual-wielded with another Light weapon
• Range – The Range of a Weapon is listed here in meters.
• Extra Reach – Has increased range and can attack from further away.
• Thrown – Thrown weapons can be thrown for the same damage as if they were used to attack normally.
• Two-Handed – Weapons with this property must be wielded in both hands.
• Versatile – Weapons with this property can be used with one or two hands. A damage value in parentheses appears with the property, and indicates the damage the weapon does when wielded two-handed.

Armor in 5th Baldur’s Gate 3

Armor Class (AC) in BG3 is what protects you from any attack that uses an Attack Roll, this includes some Spells that use Attack Rolls like Scorching Ray. The amount of protection you gain depends on the armor you are wearing. For example, Padded Armor gives you 11 AC, and Chain Mail gives you 16, which means that enemies must reach a total of 11 in the case of Padded Armor or 16 in the case of Chain Mail on their Attack Rolls in order to Hit you. Note that if you are using no Armor, or are “Unarmored” you are considered to have 10 AC, and you cannot have lower than that unless by some in-game spell or effect.

The Role of Dexterity

In addition, players gain a benefit to their AC from their Dexterity, and how much benefit you gain is different depending on what classification of armor you are wearing. When wearing Light Armor you gain the full value of your Dexterity Modifier added to your AC. When wearing Medium Armor you gain up to +2 AC from your Dexterity Modifier. And when wearing Heavy Armor you gain no benefit from your Dexterity Modifier to your Armor Class (including negative Dexterity modifier). Note that Medium and Heavy Armor limits to your Dexterity Modifier only apply to your Armor Class, it doesn’t apply to your Attack Rolls, Ability Checks or Saving Throws, so you can still use Medium and Heavy Armor on Dexterity-focused Characters.

Here’s and example: let’s say Astarion has 18 Dexterity, which gives him a Dexterity Modifier of +4. He wears Studded Leather Armor which has a base AC of 12. His AC would be 12+4, giving him a total AC of 16. If he then swaps this out for Hide Armor, which is Medium Armor, he will have a base AC of 12, but will only gain +2 from his Dexterity Modifier, giving him a total AC of 14. This is a bad move for him, and he should look for at least Half Plate before using Medium Armor, because its base value is 15 and 15 +2 = 17.

Armor Proficiency

Unlike Weapons, Proficiency in an Armor type you are wearing is a must-have or you’ll be facing some staunch penalties. Characters who wear Armor they aren’t Proficient in will have a Disadvantage on any Attack Roll that they make, and they can’t cast spells. However, the upside here is that characters CAN cast spells while wearing Armor they are Proficient in (even Heavy Armor) with no penalty to Attack Rolls or arcane spell failure.

Stealth and Movement in Armor

One thing you need to pay attention to when wearing Armor is whether or not it gives you Disadvantage on Stealth checks. Generally speaking, you want to use lighter armor on characters with high Dexterity, because lighter armors don’t typically penalize Stealth.

Feats in Baldur’s Gate 3

Feats, for all intents and purposes work like “Talents” in DOS2 or “Perks” Fallout, and they give the character a very specific bonus. In Baldur’s Gate 3, characters will gain a Feat every 4th level they take in a given Class. This means if you don’t Multiclass you will gain Feats at Levels 4, 8, and 12. However, if you do, it’ll be whenever you hit 4 levels in a given Class.

Ability Improvement

Ability Improvement allows you to spend 2 Ability Points to improve your Abilities in whatever combination you wish, whether it’s both points in one Ability, or split between two. This is the most commonly selected Feat in Baldur’s Gate 3, and it is the safe option if you are unsure what to choose.

Benefits of Feats

Many Feats will give you some benefit and increase a specific Ability Score by 1, like Heavily Armoured. This Feat increases your Strength by 1, and also gives you Proficiency with Heavy Armor. This can be good or bad depending on how you are setup.

If you have an even number of Strength like 16 for example, you will not see any benefit from the Strength increase, since your Strength Modifier will not improve at 17. If you really want a Feat, but its Ability Score increase will not benefit you because of this, I strongly suggest that you respec your character at Withers in your camp, and set up your Abilities in such a way that you can make use of it. Like setting your Strength to 17, so it becomes 18 with the Feat, increasing your Modifier by 1.

We hope you found this Baldur’s Gate 3 Beginner Guide helpful. We’ll be putting out more guides and content. You can drop by our wiki for all the latest info on classes, weapons, skills, interactive map and more.

The post Baldur’s Gate 3 Beginners Guide appeared first on Fextralife.

In this Remnant II Build Guide, we will be showcasing our Dead To Rights Painbringer Build. This setup relies on the Nightfall’s unique mod the Dreadwalker, which grants the user access to infinite ammo, life steal, and a faster fire rate. This build is tailored to reduce the Dreadwalker’s downtime so players can utilize the mod as often as possible with short cooldowns.

Remnant 2 Summoner & Hunter Build Guide

The Hunter serves as the main archetype so we can take advantage of its passives that increase critical hit chance, and overall ranged DPS. While the Summoner class further enhances this build’s life steal capabilities for better survivability and boosts overall prowess by adding minions to the mix.

Hunter

Summoner

The Summoner’s main Archetype Trait Regrowth, which provides a health regen bonus on top of this build’s life steal is a welcome addition for more survivability in combat. I advise you to use the Flyer minions that can hit airborne and ground-type enemies, and they can perform effectively when dealing with hordes.

To unlock the Summoner, players need to craft the Faded Grimoire with Bloodmoon Essence on a Bloodmoon Altar in Yaesha. This will later on become the Tome of the Bringer when crafted as an Engram.

Remnant 2 Summoner & Hunter Build Weapons

Long Gun

The bread and butter of this build is going to be the Nightfall long gun. We built this setup around the Nightfall because of its unique Weapon Mod the Dreadwalker, which allows you to access unlimited ammo and turns the Nightfall into a fully automatic weapon with increased fire rate, and a significant increase to your overall ranged damage.

Long Gun Mod

The Dreadwalker‘s 10% added life steal is a great addition to this build in regaining lost health in combat. But while the Dreadwalker Mod is powerful in almost every aspect, its entire duration only lasts for 10 seconds, which is not incredibly long. This build is designed to reduce the Dreadwalker’s cooldown so that players can activate it more frequently. To get the Nightfall, players need to defeat the boss Nightweaver in Losomn and get the Cursed Dream Silks as a drop. Bring it to McCabe to craft this long gun.

Dreadwalker

Weapon Mods

• 10% added life steal for survivability.

Long Gun Mutator

The perfect Mutator for this build is the Momentum. Added critical hit chance is more than welcome for this build, and the Dreadwalker Mod can easily fulfill the requirement of Momentum due to its special capabilities. Momentum can be acquired by beating the Mantagora located in Yaesha’s Imperial Gardens.

Momentum Mutator

Weapon Mutator

• Added crit hit chance.
• Can be obtained by defeating Mantagora in the Imperial Gardens, Yaesha.

Hand Gun

For my Hand Gun, Enigma is still the best choice for this build. Not only is it one of the best sub-weapons in the game, but this weapon can also generate Mod Power quickly and charge the Dreadwalker Mod, especially when fighting a group of enemies. When dealing with Bosses expect to use this gun seldomly as you are more inclined to use the Nightfall. Get the Enigma by locating the Cipher Rod in the Labyrinth and craft the Hand Gun.

Hand Gun Mutator

Paired with Enigma, the Harmonizer is a highly advisable Mutator for this weapon. Mod Power generation is a must for this build and the Harmonizer helps the wielder gain a significant amount of Mod Power when the Enigma hits multiple targets. Buy the Harmonizer from Dwell in Ward 13 and you are good to go.

Harmonizer Mutator

Weapon Mutator

• Higher mod power when hitting mutiple targets
• Can be obtained by purchasing from Dwell at Ward 13.

Melee Weapon

We are not going to play with melee weapons in this setup due to the build’s design. Your goal is to take advantage of the Dreadwalker Mod as often as you can, thus using the Enigma or the Nightfall is the best course of action.

Remnant 2 Summoner & Hunter Build Rings & Amulet

Rings & Amulet

• Ankh of Power
• Faerin’s Sigil Ring
• Zania’s Malice Ring
• Probability Cord Ring
• Spirit Stone Ring

Amulet – Ankh of Power

Rings

Faerin’s Sigil

Zania’s Malice

Probability Cord

Spirit Stone

The Relics and Trait

Now that the equipment is covered, let’s talk about Relics and Traits for this build. The Relic that I am using for this setup is the Runed Heart. The additional Mod Power generation it provides is perfect for this build, especially when your Mod Power is low and you need a boost, you can use the Runed Heart to quickly fill it up so you can enter the Dreadwalker phase once again.

Runed Heart

Relics

• Runed Heart helps fill up Mod Power to encounter an addtional Dreadwalker Phase

For the Relic Fragments, I suggest focusing on Ranged Critical Hit Chance, Weakspot Damage, and Mod Damage.

Traits

While for the Traits, I am using level 10 Vigor for general survivability. I have also maxed out my Expertise Trait so I can lessen my skill cooldowns. It is a must to max out the Spirit Trait as it provides a further boost to Mod Power generation. Next on the list is a level 10 Barkskin trait, which I use to improve my damage reduction so I can have a little bit of added survivability, which I find crucial in tight situations.

Life steal is part of this Build so I suggest upgrading the Siphoner Trait to level 10 to increase your life steal percentage by 3% on top of the Dreadwalker Mod’s 10%. The Siphoner Trait can be acquired in Dormant N’erudian Facility Dungeon in N’Erud.

I also have a level 5 Endurance to have decent stamina and a level 5 Glutton to increase my Relic consumption speed. The Glutton Trait can be acquired in Losomn by participating in the Feast Event.

The last trait for this lineup is level 5 Handling. This depends on your preference and I find the Nightfall easy enough to use without level a 10 Handling Trait.

The Dead To Rights Painbringer Build Gameplay Tips

When playing this build, your main goal is to use the Nightfall’s Dreadwalker Mod often and reduce its cooldown, and skipping its cooldown is possible especially when fighting bosses thanks to the build’s overall Mod Power generation augments.

Hitting weak spots with this build is a must to generate more Mod Power and also deal more damage. I usually go for the following rotation when entering combat: start the rotation by summoning two Flyers to aid you in battle and then activate the Hunter’s Mark skill to grant the build additional ranged damage.

After the Hunter’s Mark is active, trigger the Dreadwalker Mod and enter the Burst phase. In this phase, the Dreadwalker Mod will deal significant damage to targets. When the Mod lapses, it shouldn’t be hard to generate enough Mod Power to activate Dreadwalker again. If you need a little boost in generating Mod Power, use the Runed Heart and it will help you out a lot.

The Hunter’s Mark buff will be prolonged as long you are hitting weak spots, and maintaining the additional damage it provides is a plus. Your minions, on the other hand, will also help you accumulate Mod Power while dealing extra damage to enemies. What I like about minions is, they can help divide enemy attention so you can move around the field easily. You can also sacrifice your minions for additional damage and grant you a further boost of damage, especially when their HP is low.

Final Tips

The Dead To Rights Painbringer is a strong build that heavily relies on Nightfall’s Dreadwalker Mod. The capability to spam this mod and deal a lot of damage while enjoying short cooldowns is the highlight of this build, especially when fighting bosses.

Taking advantage of the Painbringer’s life steal is a viable strategy since the Dreadwalker’s burst phase can inflict high DPS and it can heal you up as quickly as you take damage. If you do have a surplus of Relics, using your Rune Heart charges can boost your overall damage so make sure to use one before entering Dreadwalker Phase. This build has a ton of potential so don’t be afraid to mix it up and experiment, like by changing the second Archetype to Challenger and utilizing its Rampage Skill!

e sure to check out our Beginner Guide and head to our Remnant 2 wiki for the latest info.

Stay tuned for more Remnant 2 content as we update the other Builds, and be sure to drop by our Twitch Channel if you have questions about the game. If you need something specific, check out our Remnant 2 wiki as well as our Remnant 2 Guides.

The post Remnant 2 Summoner & Hunter Build – Painbringer appeared first on Fextralife.

In this Remnant 2 video, we will be showcasing all of the starting classes, plus a couple extra, so you will have an idea of what Archetype best suits your playstyle when playing Remnant II. There are a handful of Archetypes to choose from and it can be overwhelming, especially for new players who have not played the previous title.

Remnant 2 Class Guide

Additionally, playing in Multiplayer is a major factor when choosing your Class since each has a distinct role in the field. Thus, understanding the pros and cons of the basic kit of each Archetype is a must, especially since players can now multiclass or equip two Archetypes, adding considerable depth to gameplay. Hopefully, this Remnant 2 Class Guide will point you in the right direction when planning out your future builds.

Remnant 2 Dual Archetype System

Gunfire Games is making Remnant 2 much larger in almost every aspect. One major way they’re doing this is by introducing more diverse and interesting Classes to the game. Each Class is now more intricate and detailed than those from the previous title. They come with their unique mechanics, skills, advantages, and enhancements that you can mix and match as you advance through the game.

Second Archetype

Once you’ve made enough progress in the campaign, you’ll be able to use a Secondary Archetype, which lets you use abilities from two different Classes at the same time. These Secondary Classes have access to all the same features as the main class, like choosing one skill from three options and taking advantage of the Archetype Trait. The only difference is that you can’t use its Prime Perk. It is worth noting that the main Archetype slot will determine which Prime Perk will be active so make sure to read what these are, and slot them in the correct places. Just keep in mind that your second archetype will have its own progression, and will need to be leveled up as well to gain full benefit from the other Perks.

While unlocking your second Archetype slot can be done after progressing in the game, players can unlock more Archetypes by crafting special items called Archetype’s Engrams. These items will need to used in crafting in conjunction with other base materials which are scattered throughout the world. Most of the base materials for the starting classes can be unlocked in Ward 13, which is your main hub in the game. There will be no need to create a new character since all of these Archetypes can be changed on the fly, which is a major plus. We have covered this in our 12 Things You Must Know About Remnant II video along with other essential tips, and you can visit the official Remnant II Wiki for more helpful tips such as item locations.

Remnant 2 Archetype Passives and Skills Overview

In Remnant 2, Perks are special passive abilities that enhance your build. There are five types of Perks, and each class has one Perk of each type. You can unlock these by leveling up your Archetype, and as you make your way towards level 10, each Perk gets stronger.

The Perks always unlock in the same order for every class in the game. This order is Prime Perk, Damage Perk, Team Perk, Utility Perk, and Relic Perk. When you reach levels 6 to 10, the same cycle happens again, but this time these same Perks get upgraded to their final and more powerful version. Let’s do a quick rundown of each perk type to have a better understanding of its progression.

Traits In Remnant 2

In Remnant 2, there are two types of Traits. Archetype Traits and Core Traits. Core Traits are the same for all Classes and provide general bonuses. These bonuses include increased Damage Reduction, Max Health, Max Stamina, or improving Mod Power Generation. These traits can be leveled up by assigning trait points that you can get when exploring the world or beating bosses. While Archetype Traits are unique traits tied to Archetypes. When you play a particular Class, Archetype Traits automatically level up as your Archetype levels up, with the maximum level being 10. Meaning, you don’t need to spend traits points on Archetype Traits.

The Archetypes in Remnant 2

There are eleven Archetypes playable in the game but for now, we will be focusing on the starting classes that you can select when starting your first playthrough. By now, you are aware that a second Archetype can be taken advantage so you have at least a little bit of leeway when picking your first class depending on the modes that you will play, especially multiplayer.

The five starting Archetypes in Remnant 2, are the Gunslinger, Challenger, Handler, Medic, and Hunter. Each offers an in-depth selection of abilities, skills, and support abilities to help boost your team and help them survive or even when playing solo. As a reminder we will be focusing on how each starting class works thus, we will not delve that much in terms of the second Archetype and it will be covered in our Build videos so stay tuned for those! 

The Handler Archetype

The Handler Class comes with a companion which can help support you and your team. It is a jack-of-all-trades support class, able to do several things including damage, support your team, and distract enemies. This is all done through commands with your companion. Let’s dive into its passive and active skills.

All of the Archetype normal Perks in general are self-explanatory hence we decided to focus on each Archetype’s Prime Perks and Active Skills and these two define the gameplay of each Archetype. Feel free to pause the video if you want to check a specific perk in more detail.

Prime Perk – Bonded

Guard Dog Active Skill

Support Dog Active Skill

Attack Dog Active Skill

Pros of the Handler

The handler is a versatile job, and one can focus their efforts by concentrating on its full support abilities, and aid the team with healing and powerful buffs that can be a game changer. The Handler is a must-have Archetype in a team at least in my opinion, if you don’t have at least one Medic in the party. I see the handler as the perfect job that adds further sustainability and other positive buffs.

While in single-player mode, your DPS will not be as high compared to the DPS Archetypes however, having a companion provides value. Not only it is fun to have your trustee partner at your side, but the ability of the companion to aggro enemies and deal additional damage is invaluable. Enemies will be forced to target your companion, which keeps you free to keep on shooting.

Cons of the Handler

One I can think of is the overall DPS, but it will solely depend on your playstyle or preference. The handler concentrates on supportive passives and skills, thus temper your expectations in terms of damage numbers.

Another major con, is that since your companion is a melee attacker, reaching floating targets will not be possible. Most of the Bosses in Remnant II stay midair so keep that in mind. However, making Handler your secondary archetype can rectify some of these issues. Pair it to a DPS Class and you will have a significant bump in DPS, while not needing to rely on your companion as much.

The Medic Archetype

The medic class is what you want to pick if you are a team player, focused on working with your allies. They heal much faster and more efficiently than any other class and can keep their team alive and in the fight. This Archetype provides shields to save the party in dire situations.

Prime Perk – The Regenerator 

Wellspring Active Skill

Healing Shield Active Shield

Redemption Active Skill

Pros of the Medic Archetype

Its burst heals are unparalleled along with its heal-wide relic restorative powers that keep the party healthy or in good shape. A must-have Archetype when playing in Multiplayer especially when tackling advanced dungeons or playing on higher difficulties, especially if you don’t have a Handler Archetype in your group.

While in single-player mode beginners will find this Archetype a good starting Class, especially when trying to adapt to the game’s difficulty. The extra healing on top of your Relics will give players ample amount wiggle room for mistakes. Once you’ve progressed through the game, you will unlock the second Archetype anyway if you want to ramp up your DPS.

Cons of the Medic Archetype

Finding the Medic’s usefulness will vary depending on the player’s skill. Experienced players will find the Medic underwhelming in most cases since as a DPS-oriented player, the additional skill slot needs to be at least something that can be used to increase build damage. As your skill increases in Remnant, Medic falls off in favor of more potent Archetypes.

The Hunter Archetype

The Hunter excels in long-range, precise gunplay. They are skilled at identifying targets and eliminating them with precision, utilizing various perks that aid in picking off enemies. Additionally, they are valuable team players, providing support to their allies, and are particularly effective at dealing significant damage to an opponent’s weak points. Likely the strongest single-hit shots in the game if built properly. 

Prime Perk – Dead to Rights

Hunter’s Mark Active Skill

Hunter’s Focus Active Skill

Hunter’s Shroud Active Skill

Pros of the Hunter Archetype

Snipers or long-range oriented players will love the Hunter. Equipped with DPS-oriented perks and skills that heavily rely on a specific range defines this class with clarity, making it relatively easy to build since you already have a direction to follow. Adept in Long Range Rifles that hit like a truck on a single shot, the hunter avoids enemy aggro most of the time, due to its positioning, especially when playing in Multiplayer. Expect high DPS and satisfying kills if this class is handled correctly.

Cons of the Hunter Archetype

Hunter has a high-skill floor and a high-skill ceiling, and this point also can be a pro or a con depending on your perspective. Precision and timing are the skills that one needs to master when playing this Archetype. And since the class is heavily reliant on weak spot damage, and zoning in on your targets can be a challenging task, beginners maybe find this class more challenging to play than they realized.

The Challenger Archetype

The Challenger Archetype embodies the role of a powerful tank. Sporting thick armor and wielding formidable melee weapons, they excel at close-to-mid-range combat, specializing in demolishing enemies and enduring heavy assaults. Their unique abilities allow them to significantly reduce incoming damage, and enhance various aspects of their capabilities.

Prime Perk – Die Hard

War Stomp Active Skill

Juggernaut Active Skill

Rampage Active Skill

Pros of the Challenger

Even though the challenger performs in mid-range combat where enemies can be overwhelming at times, its repertoire of skills and passives makes it formidable not just in damage but also when it comes to reducing incoming damage, making it the sturdiest Archetype. Beginner players will enjoy this class as it makes the difficulty of Remnant II a bit more forgiving. Its unique passives that empower melee playstyles are enticing as well, giving players more diversity when it comes to Remnant’s overall gameplay.

Cons of the Challenger

As the Challenger excels in midrange combat, players will find less damage compared to the other class especially when using a shotgun type of weapon when dealing with flying enemies or bosses. This can be alleviated by using a different type of loadout but it will defeat the challenger’s design. Although I would love to have a second life due to its Prime Perk, I find it less useful at endgame since you should not be planning on failure. However, this issue can be rectified by setting Challenger as your secondary Archetype, and using the Prime Perk of another Class.

The Gunslinger Archetype 

Next is the Gunslinger. A master of firearms that possesses several perks that enhance their efficiency with the weapons in their arsenal. They excel at dealing massive damage, making the most of their ammunition, and firing bullets at a rapid rate. Check out our Loaded Sharpshooter Build for more details on the dual Gunslinger/Hunter.

Prime Perk – Loaded

Quick Draw Active Skill

Sidewinder Active Skill

Bulletstorm Active Skill

Pros of the Gunslinger

In terms of range damage, Gunslinger can provide an unparalleled experience. Especially if you love to play with weapons that have high fire rates, the Gunslinger can play a pivotal role in enhancing these types of builds. Relatively easy to build as well and most of its foundation can be accessed at the start of the game. I can’t stress enough how important the reload speed and ammo capacity are in this game and the Gunslinger can manage these two avenues well and concentrates on damage alone. DPS-oriented players will love this class and it can work with a vast array of weaponry.

Cons of the Gunslinger

All of the other Archetypes have damage-mitigating perks or skills that may aid beginner players in early game that the Gunslinger does not have. Since the Gunslinger is a pure DPS Archetype, it requires a little bit of advanced play at the start. You may find this job squishy at first however, your skills will improve over time to offset this con.

The Explorer Archetype 

The Explorer is a specialist with exceptional skills in discovering valuable items and offering vital support to the team. Their expertise enables them to generate extra items and rare drops when defeating powerful enemies. Using a range of abilities, the Explorer can improve their ability to find loot, increase the team’s damage, reveal hidden treasures, and boost the movement speed of all allies. This Archetype is acquired from completing the game.

Prime Perk – Lucky

Plainswalker Active Skill

Gold Digger Active Skill

Fortune Hunter Active Skill

Pros of the Explorer Archetype

Explorer is a unique Archetype that focuses on items and materials hunting. The ability to scan the area for possible items is a huge time saver. This archetype is loaded with passives that increase material drop rates or affect the quality of the items you get in chests. The Explorer may lessen the burden of exploration by buffing the party with a movement speed increase to cover as much ground as possible in a short period.

Beginners will find this Archetype useful especially when optimizing their first builds. Players can commit to a pure support type build with the Explorer when playing in multiplayer since you can rely on your teammates to deal damage while you focus on supporting your allies. With a secondary support type Archetype, like a Medic, for example, Explorer can be a viable part of a build. Whether hunting new items in multiplayer or solo play, one can appreciate the explorer’s value.

Cons of the Explorer Archetype

The explorer heavily relies on a second class, preferably a DPS Archetype due to it not having any offensive skills when playing Solo. The main issue with this class in solo play is its longevity. Once you get your desired gear or materials, it is likely that you will not use this job again unless its passives are needed in builds that rely on movement speed. 

The Alchemist Archetype

The Alchemist is a character who focuses on supporting the party by applying helpful buffs. Its unique abilities enhance item effectiveness, increasing its overall effects and longevity. Equipped with supportive skills that can increase fire rate, damage reduction, and even revives. This Class can be obtained by defeating Manticora in the Manticora from the Drain Event at Losomn.

Prime Perk – Spirited

Vial: Stone Mist Active Skill

Vial: Frenzy Dust Active Skill

Vial: Elixir of Life Active Skill

Pros of the Alchemist Archetype

The Alchemist provides impressive buffs that may improve the overall party’s performance. Another support Archetype that plays with consumables and concoctions, improving overall efficacy of teammates. Players who love to tinker with items will find this job enjoyable. Playing with different types of item effects may add another layer of complexity to builds. The Alchemist can perform well in both single and multiplayer modes due to its versatile skills and passives.

DPS-oriented Archetypes may be paired well with Alchemist and an example would be Melee & Damage Reduction type Challengers. Its tanking capabilities will be significantly improved when using the Alchemist’s damage reduction skills.

Alchemists can contribute greatly when building a pure support-oriented archetype. Its ability to revive allies like Medic does, is a great addition to a support character’s repertoire. Having two revive abilities may tremendously help in difficult fights when playing in Multiplayer. 

Cons of the Alchemist Archetype

Like the other support class, the Alchemist requires a DPS class to perform in solo play. Pure DPS-type of players may find other Archetypes useful depending on their build. Playing with consumables may be fun when using concoctions, but this gameplay is a niche in most cases. 

The Summoner Archetype

The Summoner possesses exceptional skills in controlling and directing minions to carry out their commands. By provoking their minions, they can enhance their damage, attack speed, and movement, while sacrificing minions temporarily empowers the Summoner’s own attacks. Minions that reach the end of their lifespan create healing auras and utilizing Relics enhances minion health and damage capabilities. With a variety of minion types at their disposal, including Root Hollow, Flyer, and Reaver, the Summoner wields a formidable range of abilities. To unlock this Archetype players first need to obtain Faded Grimoire which can be crafted at Bloodmoon Altar using Blood Moon Essence.

Prime Perk – Ruthless

Minion: Hollow Active Skill

Minion: Flyer Active Skill

Minion: Reaver Active Skill

Pros of the Summoner Archetype

The Summoner is an excellent choice for players who love variety, build complexity, and unique gameplay. This Archetype can deploy summons that may aid the traveler in the field. Each summons has its strength and weaknesses and its own unique abilities with different types of mechanics and executions that players may find fun to play with.

The Summoner’s minions can effectively direct enemy attention to them, making the player safe from incoming attacks. Not only do the minions provide protection to the traveler to some degree, but their overall damage can also wipe out enemy hordes effectively. A further addition to minions is the Handler‘s companion. If used as a Second Archetype the companion may add a further boost of parameters to the Summoner’s minions making it a powerful build.

Cons of the Summoner Archetype

The Summoner class may be complex at times and beginners may find this archetype’s gameplay advanced and overwhelming, especially when dealing with hordes of enemies. Players who prefer straightforward gameplay or style may refrain from using this Archetype. To maximize the value of this class, players need to constantly check their minion’s health points. Once its HP is low, it is advisable to detonate it providing additional DPS and a healing circle that the player can take advantage of.

That wraps up our Classes Beginners Guide, and we hope you found this helpful. Remember to check the wiki or more tips and locations!

Stay tuned for more Remnant 2 content as we update the other Builds, and be sure to drop by our Twitch Channel if you have questions about the game. If you need something specific, check out our Remnant 2 wiki as well as our Remnant 2 Guides.

The post Remnant 2 Class Guide – Which is the BEST for YOU? appeared first on Fextralife.

Armored Core 6 hands-on preview impressions and more from Los Angeles & Germany events. We got to play the first 11 missions and try out different cores.

Armored Core 6: Hands-On Preview for the Mech Enthusiast

Recently, we had the exciting opportunity to travel to Los Angeles for an in-person, hands-on experience with Armored Core 6, courtesy of FromSoftware and Bandai Namco. The highlight of the event was getting the chance to pilot a real-life Mech, which was undeniably cool. In this video, we’ll be sharing our impressions from the event and discussing what we think about Armored Core 6 so far, as well as what players can expect when the game releases on August 25th.

Before delving into the details, it’s worth mentioning that all the gameplay footage you’ll see in this video is our own captured gameplay from the event. This is not the same footage that has been shown in other Armored Core 6 videos; it’s specifically from our playthrough with our red Mech adorned with the Fextralife logo.

Missions of Rubicon

One aspect we want to touch upon is the game’s length based on the content we played. During the event, we were able to experience the first 11 missions of the full game, although we’re only allowed to showcase about half of those missions here. It took us just under three hours to complete these 11 missions, which was intriguing given that we were told the game would be around 50 to 60 hours long. This suggests that players can expect over 100 missions in total, although the later missions may be longer, slowing down the mission count progress.

The missions involve various tasks like taking out enemy Mechs, destroying enemy batteries, and acting as a wingman for other Mechs.

The dialogue we’ve encountered so far is well-executed, with characters feeling authentic and fitting the style of the game. Nonetheless, there were instances where the dialogues seemed overly lengthy, which could be a bit of a drawback, especially for newcomers eager to dive into combat. However, players do have the option to skip these dialogues, but we chose to listen to them to get a better understanding of the game’s background story and Armored Core 6 in general.

While the early dialogues in the game might be a bit lengthy but as you progress it becomes less of an issue. Each mission starts with a debriefing on your objectives, and then you load into the mission, which typically follows a format of starting in an open outdoor area and then moving to an indoor space with less verticality. Once the mission is completed, you return to the base for a debrief and possible foreshadowing of what’s to come in the overall story. Sometimes the story bits are told through cutscenes that tie together the game’s overarching plot nicely. 

Fast-Paced Mech Fighting

The combat is the game’s main focus, and the controls feel smooth and responsive, making it enjoyable to pilot the Mech even at high speeds. Mastering the game’s mechanics will take time, but skilled players will be able to perform incredible maneuvers and look very impressive in combat. This may even be more so than the Souls games, Armored Core 6 players will eventually be able to do even more cool and impressive things in this game. Not only will you be zooming around killing everything, but you’re going to look like an absolute badass while doing it.

Melee attacks are particularly powerful in the game, as they can stagger enemies and leave them vulnerable for a short time, making it easier to deal heavy damage. Your mech will actually be pulled forward into a melee attack animation. 

I also found that using a bazooka on my right-hand weapon made it so that after I did this melee combo, I could just fire that bazooka point-blank into the enemy before they could move. This often completely filled up their stagger gauge if they were close, and then I could repeat the melee attack and keep repeating this pattern. I used this strategy to defeat the final boss on Mission 11, and it allowed me to beat it on my first try. I was hyper-aggressive with melee and my bazooka, staggering the boss and unloading my rockets into it repeatedly.

This will definitely be everyone’s style in the game. I found that this particular approach worked well for me, but players will be able to express themselves very much since there is tons of build potential. 

Armored Core 6 Mech Customization

Let’s talk about Mech customization in Armored Core 6. At the beginning of the game, you’ll spend time customizing your Mech, experimenting with different legs, arms, weapons, and cores to find a setup that works for you. However, there are a lot of stats on these weapons that might be confusing for new players.

Understanding these stats becomes more important as the difficulty increases, helping you optimize your Mech setup. While it’s not necessary to understand everything from the start, delving into the customization options and understanding the stats will benefit you as you progress.

The Mech customization is a nostalgic and enjoyable aspect, and players can experiment with different weapon sets and configurations to find effective combinations. Players will spend a lot of time tinkering with their mechs, especially since the systems are extremely flexible. While it seemed like there were some distinctly better weapons than others, it will probably change later on in the game as more options open up. 

A substantial portion of the game revolves around customizing your Mech and engaging in pre and post-mission dialogues. However, as you fine-tune your Mech and get more familiar with the game mechanics, the tinkering aspect is likely to diminish, and the bulk of your playtime will consist of completing missions back-to-back, immersing you deeper into the gameplay.

Passing Visuals

Regarding Armored Core 6’s graphics, they are serviceable but not outstanding. Since the game is made for last-gen and current-gen consoles, it lacks the visual appeal that you might expect from a Mech game. As the industry advances with modern engines like Unreal Engine 5,

FromSoftware’s engine is starting to show its age. Despite this, the game runs smoothly, with no bugs or glitches, which is typical of FromSoftware’s games.

Armored Core 6 Preview: Final Thoughts

In conclusion, I enjoyed my time playing Armored Core 6, especially since I love Mech games. The controls feel familiar for those who have played FromSoftware’s other titles. However, I believe many players who are fans of FromSoftware’s other games, such as Elden Ring or Dark Souls, might be reluctant to switch immediately to Armored Core 6. The timing of its release might impact its initial player base. It is up against some heavy hitters, such as Baldur’s Gate 3, Starfield, Lies of P, or even Lords of the Fallen. Overall, the game is enjoyable, but its competition with other popular titles might affect its initial reception.

Be sure to check out the Armored Core 6 Wiki for more information on the game! 

The post Armored Core 6: Hands-On Preview for the Mech Enthusiast appeared first on Fextralife.

In this Remnant II Build Guide, we will be showcasing our first build, the Loaded Sharpshooter. This build is a combination of two DPS-oriented Archetypes which are the Gunslinger and Hunter. These Archetypes are known for their damage-augmenting passives that focus on DPS alone. Also when paired together they form a build that can use a vast array of weapons depending on your preference. This build is designed to deal a significant amount of damage in a short amount of time.

Remnant 2 Gunslinger & Hunter Build Guide

The Loaded Sharpshooter gameplay highly depends on its Active Skills to undergo a “burst phase” that features an extremely fast fire rate coupled with Fire Damage. Carefully timed skill rotations are a must to make out of this build. Knowing when and where to activate both of its Active Skills plays a pivotal role in the success of this build. With that out of the way, let’s talk a bit more in detail about these two DPS Archetypes.

Loaded Sharpshooter Build Archetypes

Gunslinger

How to Unlock the Gunslinger in Remnant II

Luckily, unlocking the Gunslinger Archetype is possible whether you pre-ordered the game or not. However, the overall process of unlocking it may require players a little bit of time. It starts with the NPC Mudtooth in Ward 13. After clearing your first rolled world and visiting the Labyrinth/ Activate the Worldstone in the Labyrinth and return to Ward 13. Speak to Mudtooth who is located beside Reggie. Exhaust his dialogue by listening to all of his stories. After exhausting all the dialogue, Mudtooth will provide the player with the Gunslinger Ring. We will be using it in this Remnant 2 Gunslinger & Hunter Build Guide as well.

Proceed to the story and complete the world next to the Labyrinth and return to Mudtooth. Exhaust his dialogue once again and listen to his stories.  After listening to his new stories, he will be grateful and reward the player with the Gunslinger Charm, our main Amulet for this build, and the Worn Cylinder which you can craft as an Engram to ultimately unlock the Gunslinger Archetype.

Hunter

How to Unlock the Hunter in Remnant II

It is worth noting that unlocking this Archetype is a relatively easy task. Players can access the Hunter when choosing their first base class in the game when starting their first playthrough. However, if a player started with Gunslinger or another Archetype, players can still buy the Rusty Medal from Brabus in Ward 13 and craft the Hunter’s Engram to unlock it.

Remnant 2 Gunslinger & Hunter Build: Loaded Sharpshooter Equipment

One thing that I love about this Remnant 2 Build is, is that it’s easy to collect all the required weapons and accessories to make the Remnant 2 Gunslinger & Hunter Build work. The Loaded Sharpshooter is a beginner-friendly build that anyone can tweak according to their playstyle.

Long Gun

Starting with the Loaded Sharpshooter’s main weapon, the XMG57 Bonesaw. Its sweet fire rate and decent range. A great amount of ammo reserve and capacity make it ideal for this build. Although it suffers from having low accuracy and bad recoil, these cons can be offset with Traits later on.

The XMG57 Bonesaw can be acquired by buying it from Brabus in Ward 13. Or simply get it by playing the Medic Class. If you do not prefer the Bonesaw, I find the Blackmaw AR-47 a good alternative. Players will have a slower fire rate by using this weapon, however, its accuracy, good range, and firepower make up for it. Players can further improve this build by getting the Chicago Typewriter in the Labyrinth. A weapon with a good fire rate and overall stats if players do not prefer the Bonesaw’s overheating mechanic.

Long Gun Mod

I decided to pair the Bonesaw with a Hot Shot Mod, as it grants the ammunition the power of fire, resulting in a 15% boost to Ranged damage for a duration of 20 seconds. Additionally, the shots cause a Burning effect, inflicting fire damage over a span of 10 seconds. Not only can players deal a significant amount of damage for a short period due to this build’s insane fire rate, but the Burn Status ailment deals damage over time as well. Hot Shot is one of your first readily accessible Mods in the game and making Ava McCabe in Ward 13 craft this mod for you is an easy task to do.

Hot Shot

Weapon Mods

• 15% boost to Ranged damage for a duration of 20 seconds.
• Shots cause a Burning effect, inflicting fire damage over a span of 10 seconds.

Long Gun Mutators

Mutators on the other hand are hard to come by, and this part of the Remnant 2 Gunslinger & Hunter Build will vary from player to player. As you progress further in the game, you will gain access to more Mutators and the resources to upgrade them fully.

However, if you do have the Bandit Mutator, this is a good choice for this build. At level 10, there is a 30% possibility of replenishing the expended Ammo directly into the player weapon’s magazine. Once Ammo is restored in this manner, the weapon’s Fire Rate receives a 10% boost for a duration of 3 seconds, with the potential to extend up to 10 seconds.

This Mutator not only recycles ammo, but further increases the build’s fire rate. Getting it may be a rigorous process and players can obtain it by exploring Yaesha and through the Forgotten Field Zone. It is a boss drops from The Weald Stalker and The Gnarled Archer mini-boss.

Bandit

Mutator

• At level 10, there is a 30% possibility of replenishing the expended Ammo directly into the player weapon’s magazine.
• Once Ammo is restored, the weapon’s Fire Rate receives a 10% boost for a duration of 3 seconds. Has the potential to extend up to 10 seconds.

Handgun

For the Hand Gun, I prefer the MP60-R due to its insane fire rate. It also has good ammo capacity, perfect for bursts of damage. Its highly accurate shots are appealing especially when trying to hit enemy weak spots. Pair it with the active skills of this build, and you will have a great sub-weapon. In general catering to the Loaded Sharpshooter’s playstyle.

What is so good about the MP60-R is, it is painless to acquire. In Ward 13 there’s a chest in Ford’s room that requires a code for it to be unlocked.  The code for this chest is encrypted on the flashlight that Ford gave you. Simply inspect it to get the code 0415 and receive the Cargo Control Key.  Past Merchant Dwell along with the docks, players can observe a pathway leading to the cargo storage. Following this path will eventually lead to a rusty door. Use the Cargo Control Key to open it and the MP60-R is waiting on the other side.

If you don’t prefer the MP60R, Tech 22 is a great substitute. Its fast firing rate is perfect for this build but has a lower ammo capacity. Players can buy it from Brabus or get it as a starting weapon when choosing the Handler as a starting class.

Handgun Mod

The MP60-R can be paired with the Bore Mod, which forces the enemy to reveal their weak spots for more damage and adds damage over time on top of the player’s bullet and Fire damage making it perfect for this build. Players can craft this Mod when speaking to McCabe after beating the Abomination Dungeon Boss in N’ERud and getting the Mutated Growth crafting material.

The same goes for the mutator for this handgun, players can use any mutator that they have currently, but I find the Refunder Mutator that refunds bullets directly to the player’s reserve to be a fantastic choice. The more bullets, the more damage you can deal. The Refunder can be obtained by defeating the E.D. Alpha Dungeon Boss at the Tower of the Unseen in N’Erud.

Melee Weapon

The ideal melee weapon for this build depends on their preference. When using this build, players will unlikely use their melee weapons. However, if players would want to be versatile in most cases, they can use any melee weapon that they prefer. In my personal build, I use the Spectral Blade due to its flashiness. Its special ability Whirlwind can slash enemies in a quick manner with a good AOE range. Players can get it by beating the main boss Sha’Hala Spectral Guardian in the world of N’Erud and getting its drop, the Eidolon Shard which can be given to McCabe in Ward 13 to craft the weapon. 

Rings & Amulet

• Gunslinger Charm
• Gunslinger’s Ring
• Fire Stone Ring
• Vestige of Power
• Wax Sealed Ring

Amulet – Gunslinger Charm

Now that the weapons are covered, it is time for the accessories. Two of the pieces were already covered hence, making this build beginner friendly. The amulet that works best in this build is hands down the Gunslinger Charm which you can get from Mudtooth in Ward 13. This amulet increases fire rate by 15% and reloads speed by 20%. A pretty straightforward addition, but a significant boost to this build’s prowess.

Rings

Gunslinger Ring

Next up and our first ring for this build is another Mudtooth’s reward, the Gunslinger’s Ring. It increases firearm swap speed by 30% and reloads speed by 10%, making it an absolute must for this build since players will be switching between weapons most of the time during burst phases.

Fire Stone Ring

The last two rings can be anything depending on what you have since the worlds that players explore greatly vary. This build was built mainly for damage and what I prefer to use for the third slot is the Vestige of Power Ring which increases my ranged and melee Damage by 10% if undamaged after 7 seconds. The said condition is fairly easy to achieve since enemies will be dead long before they hit you. Also as players progress in the game, they will get better at avoiding damage. Players can get this ring by visiting the world of Yaesha and exploring its Faithless Thicket Zone.

Wax Sealed Ring

While those Rings can be used now, eventually you will want to get the Braided Thorns, which grants an insane overall critical rate that is easy to maintain, and the Compulsion Loop that can even provide significant fire rate speed.

Amulet – Range Finder

Remnant 2 Gunslinger & Hunter Build: Loaded Sharpshooter Relics & Traits

Relics

Relics greatly depend on the user’s preference and how good they are in terms of playing the game. Experienced players may use an advanced relic that adds more offensive buffs by disregarding the need of replenishing their health. But for beginners, I will still recommend using the Dragon Heart as a general relic.

Dragon Heart

Relics

• Dragon Heart is a generic relic that replenishes health

Acquiring Relic Fragments is heavily based on RNG thus I will be suggesting to use whatever you have right now. But if blessed with the RNG, concentrate on Elemental Damage, Fire Rate, Recoil, Crit Chance, and Ranged Damage.

Traits

Traits on the other hand can be tricky things to upgrade, as specific traits randomly show up in the field by completing side dungeons, NPC quests, and more. The Core Traits: Vigor, Endurance, Spirit, and especially Expertise should be maxed first for players to have high chances of survival in combat. Expertise is a must especially, since this build relies on active skills.

Trait Handling reduces weapon spread and recoil by a significant amount and this trait offsets the cons of the XMG57 Bonesaw making it even more an ideal weapon for this build. By reaching the last parts of the story, this trait can be obtained by progressing.

Next up is the Footwork Trait which increases the build’s movement speed when aiming. I need to stress how important this is since strafing while aiming can save the players from minor projectiles and prevents the need to roll which interrupts your firing. The Footwork Trait can be obtained by completing the Terminus Station Dungeon in N’Erud.

The Gunslinger’s Archetype Traits Ammo Reserves and Longshot are two great additions to this build’s repertoire as they further enhance the XMG57 Bonesaw’s ammunition and range. Players are welcome to add more extra trait points on whatever trait they have currently as it will serve as a total upgrade in general.

Remnant 2 Gunslinger & Hunter Build – Loaded Sharpshooter Gameplay Tips

The Loaded Sharpshooter heavily relies on the build’s active skills to reach its peak performance, and it is worth noting that the entire duration of this build’s active skills is what I call the “Burst Phase”. Players need to follow sets of skills and mod rotations in order to get the most from this Build.

To begin the rotation properly, fire up Bore Mod to force enemies to reveal their vulnerable spots. Quickly activating the Hunter’s Mark Active Skill will mark enemies and increases the build’s Ranged Damage. Following up with the Gunslinger’s Bulletstorm increases the build’s fire rate and reloading speed immensely. And lastly, activate the Hot Shot Mod before firing Bonesaw.

While in the middle of the burst phase, since the Bonesaw accumulates heat from continuous shots, pay attention before the overheat gauge reaches its threshold and quickly swap to the MP60-R and fire away. If you failed to switch and the Bonesaw overheats, you will be locked in its overheat animation, wasting your burst window. Keep this in mind and ensure your ammo capacities for both guns are fully loaded before entering the burst phase.

When the active skills expire, simply wait for them to cooldown to start the skill, and mod rotation once again. 

Final Thoughts

The Loaded Sharpshooter is an absolute beast on the battlefield. Its immense damage, incredibly high fire rate, and speedy weapon-switching capabilities make it fun to use for both beginners and experienced players. If you find the Bore Mod clunky or difficult to use, you can skip it in your rotation and instead start from activating the Hunter’s Mark, and you’ll still deal significant damage.

This is one of my go-to builds simply because of the burst damage it deals when all mods and skills are active. Seeing those high continuous damage numbers is so satisfying, especially when ripping off a huge chunk of a Boss’s health in a very short period of time. The Loaded Sharpshooter is easy to build, and enjoyable for players of all skill levels.

Be sure to check out our Beginner Guide and head to our Remnant 2 wiki for the latest info.

Stay tuned for more Remnant 2 content as we update the other Builds, and be sure to drop by our Twitch Channel if you have questions about the game. If you need something specific, check out our Remnant 2 wiki as well as our Remnant 2 Guides.

The post Remnant 2 Gunslinger & Hunter Build – Loaded Sharpshooter appeared first on Fextralife.

In this Remnant II Beginner Guide, we will be covering the essential things that you need to know before your very first playthrough of the anticipated sequel to Remnant: From the Ashes. We will focus on the things that you should be doing first as a new player in Remnant II, as well as Difficulty Modes, Level Progression, Archetypes, Build Optimization, and more helpful information that you need to know to get up to speed and make out most of your time from your very first moments.

Remnant II Beginner Guide – What’s New in Remnant 2?

The world of Remnant II is a perilous and complex one thus, getting overwhelmed when starting your playthrough is expected. Its main level progression tends to be convoluted mostly in the early parts of the game. The goal is for you to have a solid foundation and a solid understanding of what you should be doing first as a new player. We will also provide a brief overview of each Class. So you will know which one to choose depending on your playstyle. Later on, we will be covering more detailed Builds so stay tuned for that. But for now if you’re interested in picking up the game, you can use the link here to support the channel!

1. Which Difficulty To Choose in Remnant II?

In Remnant II, players will be given the chance to select the level of difficulty they will tackle which varies from Survivor, Veteran, and Nightmare. Survivor is the easiest difficulty. While Nightmare is the hardest selectable difficulty at the beginning, since Apocalypse is not immediately available.

Remnant II can be unforgiving due to its nature of being a Soulslike game, and if you are new to the franchise and haven’t played the previous title, Survivor difficulty is the way to go since it provides an easier gradient to understand how the game works and learn its mechanics. While for players who are looking for a challenge in general, playing on Veteran is what is recommended. Enemies and Bosses will hit harder compared to the Survivor difficulty, and it provides a balanced and demanding experience. Nightmare is not recommended until you have leveled up and acquired better equipment!

2. What Mode to Focus First in Remnant II?

As players progress through the game, game modes will eventually be unlocked, and there are two major modes in Remnant II: Main Campaign and Adventure Mode. I suggest focusing on Main Campaign first, especially for beginners, as it provides clear objectives that are easy to follow.

Adventure Mode on the other hand is like a “quick match” or arcade mode where players can dive into a specific world and complete its main objectives. This is helpful when hunting for specific loot or aiming to delve into a specific dungeon which we will talk more about later on. It is worth noting that the progress of the Main Campaign and Adventure Mode both have their own independent progress, progress that can be reset in the main hub which is Ward 13, while retaining your overall character progress.

3. How Does Level Progression Go in Remnant II? 

Remnant II’s character progression relies a bit on RNG. Instead of creating a massive world and putting in dungeons and areas for players to clear or explore in the order they see fit, progression is randomized so that in every playthrough, different versions of the same world will have different scenarios, enemies, dungeons, and even map layouts. Thus, looking for a specific dungeon to get specific loot may be time-consuming, since you will often need to “reroll” worlds many times to find what you are searching for. If you decide to do so, playing in Adventure Mode is the way to go since you can access different randomized worlds per “reroll” while retaining your Main Campaign progress.

4. Basic Starting Class Overview in Remnant II

In Remnant II, players can access four to five classes to start with depending on whether or not you pre-ordered the game. Starting classes are the Hunter, Challenger, Handler, Medic, the Gunslinger. Each class has a specific role in battle, especially when playing with others.

The Hunter is good at dealing damage from a distance, marking targets, using sniper rifles, regular rifles, and other weapons. The Medic helps the team by giving them helpful boosts like reducing damage and healing them when they’re badly hurt. The Handler is a versatile class that fights alongside a trusted companion, which can provide buffs to the party’s offense and defense. The Challenger specializes in close to mid-range combat with shotguns and similar weapons. It has impressive skills with melee weapons and can absorb damage and protect the party as a tank.

Lastly is the Gunslinger, which you can play from the beginning of you pre-ordered the game. It is a pure DPS Archetype that deals a hefty amount of damage during enemy encounters, focusing on reloading, quick weapon swaps, and massive critical hits, perfect for DPS-type oriented players. As mentioned, these are just basic overviews of the starting classes, and others can be unlocked by playing the game.

5. How to get More Archetypes

Having more Archetypes to experiment with as a starting player is a must, and this is one of the things that I wish I would have known from the start. Players can unlock more Archetypes by getting Engrams scattered around the worlds that they will be exploring. Engrams are special items or crafting materials that need to be crafted by Wallace in Ward 13.  Once crafted, players can change their main Archetype in the Archetype menu or even equip it as a second Archetype.

To be able to equip 2 types of Archetypes is one of the best additions of Remnant II. Mixing and matching Archetype combinations brings value and more gameplay hours on the table, and most of the starting Class Engrams are available in Ward 13. Players can buy the Rusty Medal from Brabus to unlock the Hunter Archetype, The Old Metal from Reggie Malone to unlock the Challenger Archetype, and the Medic Pin from Dr. Norah that unlocks the Medic Archetype.

6. Don’t Be Afraid To Spend Your Trait Points

Traits are very useful passive abilities that players can level up and take advantage of. Players will start with four basic Traits at the beginning of their first playthrough which are Vigor, Endurance, Spirit, and Expertise. It is a must to concentrate on these basic Traits at the beginning, when no other Traits are available, since they will make your life much easier while you find new ones.

Getting new Traits is possible by exploring the available worlds, and you gain Trait Points by finding Tomes of Knowledge along the way. Don’t hesitate to spend these Trait Points on our suggested Traits since you can always reset your Traits anytime by speaking to Wallace in Ward 13 with the use of crafting materials. This allows you to get stronger early on, and then change your build as you find better Traits later in the game.

7. Check Cass For Easy Crafting Materials

Cass is one of your main supporting NPCs in the game and she has set up her own shop in Ward 13. Whenever you return to the main hub, be sure to check her out as she offers crafting materials to upgrade your weaponry and even accessories such as Rings. She replenishes her wares after some time and this may help your progress significantly in terms of weapon upgrades rather than relying on random chests or loot when exploring the various worlds of the game. Following this tip will save you time especially when upgrading multiple weapons simultaneously.

8. Armors Set Changes

The Armor Set system has been tweaked in Remnant II and Armor no longer provides Set bonuses. Armor Pieces still have stats and overall elemental resistance however, each piece cannot be upgraded. In this manner, players have been given the freedom to customize their looks without worrying about any kind of set bonuses like in the previous title. One determining factor, however, is the total weight of the Armor you’ve equipped, as this affects your rolling capabilities. Armor sets can be acquired when exploring the world or buying the basic sets from Whisper in Ward 13.

9. Getting More Weapons

As a new player, experimenting with different kinds of Weapons and Archetypes is going to be a normal thing during your first playthrough. Weapons can be earned by getting special crafting materials that drop from main campaign Bosses. After getting a special crafting material, Ava Mccabe in Ward 13 can craft and turn these into a weapon for you. Or talk to Brabus which sells a handful of standard weapons that synergize well with most of the basic Archetypes available in the early game. Each weapon type has its strengths and weaknesses, and finding the right weapon for your desired build may take time and Brabus’ collection of weapons will give you a head start when grinding in the early game, before you’ve acquired better ones.

10. Pay Attention To Your Weapon Upgrades

Mods in Remnant II are one of the major determining factors that affect character builds, thus understanding the effects of these Mods and what they can bring to the table will yield great results. For example, having a character build that focuses on critical hits and weakness damage, may find the Bore Mod extremely useful. What this Mod does is inflict continuous damage to a target while exposing its weakness for a short period. While the weakness is exposed, players can burst their targets down within seconds or deal a significant amount of damage to bosses. Note that Unique Weapons have fixed Mods, just like the first title, and you cannot change these.

A new addition to Remnant II, is Mutators. Mutators can further enhance your Weapons as they add more stats or passive abilities, and each weapon has a Mutator slot, including Unique Weapons. You can find more Mutators from Dwell in Ward 13 or by finding secret areas around the game that contain Abberations, and defeating them.

You can even upgrade Mutators improving their effects, but upgrading these Mutators takes time since it requires rare materials such as Corrupted Lumenite Crystals and Relic Dust. Hence, carefully selecting the correct Mutator for your build and focusing on it will yield better results than trying to upgrade several Mutators at a time. When a mutator reaches its maximum level which is level 10, it will unlock an additional effect, and these are extremely powerful in most cases, so you’ll be wanting to level these up as quickly as you can.

11. Choose The Right Relic For Your Character

Players will have a Dragon Heart as their first Relic in Remnant II, and its main purpose is to restore your Health Points in combat when you have taken severe damage. However, as you progress, you will get different types of Relics that provide added abilities such as a temporary boost to defense, or other offensive types of buffs. Finding the right Relic for your build will help tremendously as each of these Relics is tailored to specific jobs. Like the Crystal Heart Relic that regenerates 100% of the user’s health over 10 seconds, while reducing overall movement speed by 50% and reducing damage received by 25%. This fits tanky builds such as the Challenger which fights at close range and does not need to move around a lot.

You will also gain Relic Fragments that can be slotted to your current Relic that further boost your stats. This is just another way in which Remnant II increases character customization, which helps improve build diversity.

12. Find The Right Build For You

Lastly, optimizing character builds is one of the core mechanics of Remnant II and finding the right build that will suit your playstyle will take time and is usually a rigorous process. It is ok to use whatever you have in the early game, but once you’ve explored a few worlds and gained more equipment and Traits, you will begin to form the concept of your first Build.

Once you’ve begun this process, not only will your character perform better in Combat, but you will also have a better experience overall. Better character builds can clear advanced content such as higher difficulties or beat more challenging end game Bosses. A half-baked build will only get you so far since enemies get stronger and tankier as you progress. So carefully inspect and play with your current equipment pool and see what you have and start from there.

We’ll also have several Build Guides out over the next week or two, so if you’re looking for good Build ideas then keep an eye on the channel, and hopefully one of them strikes your fancy or at least points you in the right direction with your own Build. And if you need further assistance, be sure to check out the Wiki which should be updated very shortly with all the equipment in the game, as well as their locations.

That goes for our Remnant II Beginner Guide. These tips will equip you and point you in the right direction before starting your first playthrough. If you have questions, let us know in the comments we would like to hear from you.

If you’re looking for info on weapons, armor, builds, locations and more head to our Remnant 2 wiki for all the latest.

The post What’s New in Remnant 2? 12 Things You Must Know! appeared first on Fextralife.

Baldur’s Gate 3’s second act is a huge step up from the content available in early access. Discover the latest and greatest, right here! 

Baldur’s Gate 3, Secrets from Act Two: From Gith and Back Again

Just a few days ago, we were given the opportunity to play the full version of Baldur’s Gate 3 for two days with Larian in Ghent, Belgium. In this video series, we want to talk about the things that we learned from playing that and discuss some changes that are coming to the game, which you might not be aware of, even if you saw the Panel From Hell. In this first video, we want to focus on Act 2.

Act 2 is something that you might not hear much about from other press or content creators because the days were divided between press and content creators. On the Press day, we all started at the beginning of the game and played for five or six hours. We eventually reached Act 2 at the end of the first day. On the second day, most of the press left, and the content creators came in, starting from the beginning of the game and playing up to Act 2.

Fortunately, we were able to continue our save from the first day and play exclusively in Act 2. This allowed us to see a lot of things that others might not have seen before.

However, we must mention that there will be some minor spoilers in our discussion. We’ll be talking about locations that were alluded to in Act 1 and some of the characters present in Act 2. If you want to avoid hearing anything about it, we suggest skipping this part to avoid spoilers.

Baldur’s Gate 3: Act Two, Scene One

In Act 2, there are multiple paths you can take. Instead of going through the Underdark like you can in Early Access, we went via the Githyanki area and through the mountain pass. Act 2 essentially picks up after that point. Previously, in Early Access, you would reach this point and be told that you can’t go there. But now, we’ve gone through the Githyanki area, and we’re on the next part of the map.

In Act 2, you have two options. You can go towards the Shadowed Lands, showcased in the Panel From Hell. It’s a dark and gloomy area that we’ll discuss more after this. Alternatively, you can go to the Githyanki creche, where Lae’zel wants to go to seek help in removing the tadpole from her head. Having plenty of time, we decided to go to the Githyanki creche first and explore it.

There is a lot of exploration to be done in this area, showcasing the three-dimensional nature of Baldur’s Gate 3. The game incorporates vertical space into puzzles, which requires you to think more three-dimensionally. Finding switches, opening doors, and reaching high-up locations become part of the puzzle-solving experience. Larian has definitely upped the ante when compared to Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2. 

After exploring the Githyanki creche and interacting with the Githyanki, we found that section fascinating. The culture and dynamics of the Githyanki were intriguing. Additionally, the companion Lae’zel has an interesting role to play. It reminded us of the first time walking into the Brotherhood of Steel in Fallout, where you’re in awe of the environment and the characters.

Back to the Shadows

Moving on, we made our way through to the Shadowed Lands. This area has a creepy atmosphere and a debuff that requires you to find a way to protect yourself or face certain death. Your goal is to reach a tower in the zone and discover who is controlling the parasites. 

There are different routes to reach the tower, offering various options depending on your choices. Sven and Adam demonstrated two different approaches in the Panel From Hell. However, during our playthrough, we took a completely different route, which we won’t spoil. The game offers a wide range of options, not just sticking to the usual good, neutral, or evil alignments.

In terms of building up a whole world, the game is more interconnected than you might expect from Early Access. There are hidden doors and backdoor tunnels that connect areas of Act 1 to Act 2, providing shortcuts to specific parts of the game.

Kung-Fu Fighting

One thing we want to highlight is that the combat in Act 2 is more challenging and interesting compared to Act 1. While already good, the combat was never the shining star of Baldur’s Gate 3’s Early Access.

This time, Baldur’s Gate 3 catches up significantly to Larian’s previous games. The encounters feature more diverse and difficult enemies, and the rewards are far greater. 

Leveling up to level 5 also provides extremely significant gameplay changes. Some include gaining level three spells for spellcasters and a second attack for most martial classes. Since Baldur’s Gate 3’s Early Access gets you to level 5 quite late, you don’t get to experience too many goodies this power spike provides. Good thing Act 2 doles out the action in spades. 

Customization and Progression in Mid Baldur’s Gate 3

In terms of character customization in Baldur’s Gate 3, multi-classing allows us to mix things up and try new combinations. The itemization in the game is incredibly strong. We’ll delve into the specifics of itemization in another video, where we’ll provide examples of the high-quality items we’ve discovered. Some of these items can even change the way you build your characters, which will be exciting for many players.

One noteworthy aspect of Act 2 is the progression of companions. In Act 1, we learned about our companions’ personalities and how they interact with us, but Act 2 takes it a step further. Their plotlines advance organically when we rest at the camp and engage in conversations with them. We can’t simply ignore them and expect no consequences. Their stories develop as we progress through the game, presenting us with tough decisions and challenging situations. The way these elements are implemented is truly impressive.

After playing Act 2, we were left with the strong impression that the writing in Baldur’s Gate 3 is some of the best in gaming. It surpasses the writing in Act 1 and offers a more serious and dark tone, reminiscent of “The Empire Strikes Back” in the Star Wars saga. The writing is captivating, filled with depth, and evokes a range of emotions. If you appreciate fantastic writing, Act 2 is where it truly shines.

Wrapping Up

Overall, Act 2 of Baldur’s Gate 3 builds upon the strengths of Act 1 and delivers an even more immersive experience. The character customization, itemization, and companion progression add layers of depth to the gameplay. The writing, in particular, stands out as exceptional, taking the game to new heights. 

The game’s use of vertical space, exploration, and combat challenges made it stand out. The branching paths and many choices add depth and replayability to the game. Players will enjoy exploring the Shadowed Lands, interacting with intriguing characters, and unraveling the mysteries of Act 2. 

The combination of these elements creates a compelling and captivating experience that keeps us eagerly anticipating what’s to come. We can’t wait to see what lies ahead in the next acts of this fantastic game when it fully launches on August 3rd.

Be sure to visit the Baldur’s Gate 3 Wiki for more on the game! 

The post Baldur’s Gate 3, Secrets from Act Two: From Gith and Back Again appeared first on Fextralife.

Golden Summer of RPGs – 2023 has been an absolutely phenomenal year for gaming, particularly RPGs, but there are still a lot of fantastic titles coming out this summer that hasn’t been released yet. In this article, I want to go through those titles, what their release dates are, what platforms they’re on, how much they’re going to cost, what you can expect, and what sort of coverage we’ll be doing for them. The best way to do this is in chronological order so the first one on our list is Jagged Alliance 3.

• Jagged Alliance 3
• Remnant 2
• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Atlas Fallen
• Blasphemous 2
• Armored Core 6
• Starfield
• Lies of P
• Lords of the Fallen
• Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

Golden Summer of RPGs – Jagged Alliance 3

Jagged Lane 3 is a tactical turn-based RPG that is the sequel to Jagged Alliance 2, which came out in 1999 nearly 25 years ago. During that time, there have been numerous spin-offs of this series using the Jagged Alliance name and just about all of those titles were reviewed poorly. A lot of fans have been waiting for a true sequel to the franchise for a very long time and I think they’ll be happy to know that Ian Curry is the writer of Jagged Alliance 3. It’s worth noting that he formerly directed Jagged Alliance 1 and directed and produced Jagged Alliance 2. 

We actually did a preview of this title a couple of months back, so if you’re interested to hear our thoughts from that preview, you can check out the Jagged Alliance 3 Video in more detail. However, this game will be released on July 14th of this year for Microsoft Windows. It’s a PC-only title currently, so if you’re looking to pick it up on console, you won’t be able to at the moment. 

Jagged Alliance 3 costs 44.99 USD on Steam. However, if you order the game before the July 14th release date, you’ll save 20%, making it cost 35.99 USD. Because there are so many different titles coming out during this time period, we probably won’t have a ton of Jagged Alliance 3 coverage on our channel. However, I think you can expect a review from us, so if you’re curious about what we think of the game, whether it’s worth 35.99 USD or 44.99 USD, stay tuned for that review coming soon. 

Golden Summer of RPGs – Remnant 2

Next up on our list is Remnant 2. This is the sequel to Remnant From The Ashes, which was originally released on August 16th of 2019. Remnant 2 is a third-person shooter with some action and RPG elements mixed in, and even a little bit of Soulslike mechanics that keep the genre fresh. 

Between the different Archetypes you can choose from, the Builds you can make with multiple Ring and Amulet Slots as well as the various Armor and Traits you can acquire and level up, players are really free to customize their character and playstyle with the ways they want, while going through a somewhat randomized world that offers a lot of replay value as they see different Bosses and parts of the levels that they didn’t experience on their first playthrough. 

On top of that, this title is cooperative, meaning that you can play with your friends or family and experience the challenging nature of Remnant together. 

We were the Official Wiki for Remnant From the Ashes and I expect that to be the case for Remnant 2 as well. We did a lot of guide coverage for that game including streams and YouTube videos. I think you can expect something similar from us on this channel as well. But it depends on how much time we have before Baldur’s Gate 3 since that’s coming out just after Remnant 2 comes out on July 25th. I don’t know if this is going to be moved or not given that Baldur’s Gate 3’s release date is on August 3rd. 

We’ll have to keep an eye out, but currently, the game is slated to be released on July 25th. Remnant 2 will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. It won’t be coming to the last gen consoles and it has a base price of 49.99 USD with currently no sales available. 

Golden Summer of RPGs – Baldur’s Gate 3

So after Remnant 2, Baldur’s Gate 3 will be released on PC on August 3rd. I hope you guys have seen the news that this has been moved up from the end of August, so this will be coming out almost a full month early on PC. The launch date on PlayStation 5 is on September 6th with no Xbox release date in sight as of yet, although it’s supposed to happen sometime this year. 

We’ve done a lot of coverage for Baldur’s Gate 3 already on this channel, particularly at the beginning of Early Access doing Class Guides, Builds, streaming a lot on Twitch, comparing the game to Divinity Original Sin 2 for players who are fans of that franchise, and we have big plans for Baldur’s Gate 3 as well. 

We’ll be doing a whole slew of new guides for this, including up to Level 12 for the Classes while going through additional Subclasses and the new Races being added to the game. There’s basically a lot to go through here. We’ll also have videos on basic Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition mechanics for those of you who are not familiar with these due to the little bit of education that can help you make a better character. Overall, we have a lot of Guides and Wiki content plans for this game. 

This is probably the biggest game for us this year if I’m totally honest. Diablo IV has been huge for us, but I think Baldur’s Gate 3 will be even bigger, and even though we have a lot of plans for Starfield as well, I think Baldur’s Gate 3 is an RPG that a lot of people have been waiting for, including myself for a very, very long time. We’ve been following this since its inception and I really just can’t wait to play the hell out of it. 

We’re also giving away 3 Collector’s Editions of this game. I procured them not long after these Collector’s Editions were revealed, so stay tuned for that giveaway in case you want to win one. These things are 250 USD each so they are not cheap and they have some really cool swag in them. Again, Baldur’s Gate 3 will be coming out for PlayStation 5, PC, and eventually, Xbox, and currently the game will be selling for 59.99 USD.

Golden Summer of RPGs – Atlas Fallen

Moving along to the next game on our Golden Summer of RPGs list we have Atlas Fallen, which comes out on August 10th, just a week after Baldur’s Gate 3. This is another game we’ve been following for some time, especially since we’re huge Deck13 fans on this channel. We not only covered the original Lords of the Fallen that they worked on but also their other titles, specifically The Surge and The Surge 2 so I can’t wait to see what this game brings. 

We have an Atlas Fallen Preview from a few months back where we got to play the game and give our thoughts about it. This is another action role-playing title that’s kind of similar to their other games with more focus on action than role-playing. The speed and the way you maneuver around the terrain, getting into solving puzzles as well as moving quickly, jumping, and dashing through the air is not something that you saw from them in their previous action RPGs. 

So this is a bit of a departure from what they’ve normally done. However, one big change to Atlas Fallen is that it’ll be fully cooperative from the beginning, so you’ll be able to play with a friend or family member all throughout. That’s not something that’s been available in any of their previous titles that I’m aware of, so it’s a big bonus if you’re someone who likes co-op. 

Atlas Fallen is another title that’s coming to PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. It’s not coming to previous-gen consoles probably because of the graphics of the game so you’ll have to wait until you get one of those platforms. It’s also a game that I don’t have a lot of coverage planned for simply because the release date for it is really bad. 

I’m hoping to get a review of Atlas Fallen on our channel though other than building the Wiki as soon as we can. This might be a week or two delayed after its release depending on when we get our review codes so we’ll just have to play that by ear. I would actually be really surprised if this game wasn’t delayed just because the timing of it now is really, really bad. It would be better if Atlas Fallen’s release date would be bumped to October or November.

Golden Summer of RPGs – Blasphemous 2

Next up on our list is Blasphemous 2, which comes out on August 24th. This is a side-scroller Metroidvania, Soulslike title that is the sequel to Blasphemous, which was a very well-received game. We have a Blasphemous Wiki and Review for those who want to check it out. We plan on doing another Blasphemous 2 Wiki and review.

I don’t think you’re going to see a ton of streaming or YouTube coverage from us on it, but this is another fantastic Metroidvania. If you like hardcore Metroidvania games that are dark and gritty, you would definitely like Blasphemous 2. This game is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Windows, and Nintendo Switch. There is currently no price listed for this title so we’ll just have to wait and see what it is. 

You can pick up Blasphemous 1 right now for about 18 USD so I’m expecting the sequel to be in the 20 to 30 USD range. 

Golden Summer of RPGs – Armored Core 6

So following Blasphemous 2 on August 25th, the very next day, Armored Core 6 is coming out. This isn’t strictly speaking an RPG but it’s a From Software game and we’ve gotten to see some of the gameplay for this. You can see the same sort of playstyle from the Souls games sped up in mech form, and it just looks really, really fantastic. So this is a game that we’re also planning on doing coverage for. 

Armored Core 6 is coming to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Microsoft Windows so if you have a last-gen system, you’ll be able to play it.  Currently, we plan to create a Wiki for this game as well as to push out some guides and a review at launch. I’ll try trying to put together some Builds for it as well. The timing is a little bad with Gamescom being held in the exact same week though. 

I’m going to try to go to that and also BG3 having launched just a few weeks before, it’s going to be tight. But I’m definitely going to try and do as much coverage for Armored Core 6 as possible on YouTube and Twitch. This game is currently listed for 59.99 USD on Steam, and I’m assuming it’s the same price on consoles as well. 

Golden Summer of RPGs – Starfield

So this brings us to September 6th when the PlayStation version of Balder’s Gate 3 will be launching. And of course, Starfield launches on the same day. This is a sci-fi RPG first-person shooter being developed by Bethesda that had a lot of people on the fence. I think originally because Bethesda hasn’t had the greatest track record recently, but after their gameplay reveal a few weeks ago, I think it’s been mostly praised by just about everyone I’ve talked to. 

A lot of people that hesitant about whether they should pick up this game or not are now firmly in the I-want-to-play-Starfield-boat so much so in fact, I’m pretty sure it was the reason that Baldur’s Gate 3 was moved from the end of August back to the beginning to give a window around that so they wouldn’t compete in sales. And this actually works out really well for us because that means we’ll be able to do a lot of Baldur’s Gate 3 coverage before we roll into our Starfield coverage at the beginning of September where we have a lot planned out for as well. 

We’ll probably continue our Baldur’s Gate 3 coverage while we’re simultaneously doing Starfield content so you’ll see videos for both games intermixed on our channel during this period. And then we’ll have Starfield streams going on. We’ll probably not be streaming Baldur’s Gate 3 into September but you can expect it on our Twitch channel from the beginning to the middle of August, followed by Armored Core 6. Next, we’ll probably go into Starfield but on our YouTube channel, you’ll continue to see the BG3 Guides cranked out. 

Starfield will be released on Xbox series X|S as well as Microsoft Windows but it will not be coming to PlayStation 5. I’m also unsure if it’s a timed exclusive, and if it’s coming to PlayStation later or not. The cost of Starfield is 69.99 USD on Steam and console so it’s a little bit more expensive than the other titles we’ve gone through already. But 69.99 US is becoming the norm for games these days so that’s not super unexpected, particularly for a game of this size and production value. 

Lies of P

And that takes us to the middle of September with Lies of P, which comes out on September 9th. This is a Soulslike title that’s being developed by a much, much smaller studio. It’s something we actually got to play last summer and it plays a lot like Bloodborne If you’re familiar with that game at all. There really hasn’t been any game that’s quite like Bloodborne, at least nothing that really came close. I think Lies of P for a lot of people, is the closest thing to Bloodborne since Bloodborne’s release. 

Now we have a Lies of P Wiki and we plan to do YouTube coverage and a review at least, and probably some guides. I don’t think we’re going to have time for Builds though depending on how everything goes. In terms of videos, we’ll probably have several of them lined up and we’ll try and do a couple of streams as well depending on how Starfield is going and where we’re at on that game. 

But I definitely want to show some love to Lies of P because I think it’s a game that a lot of Soulslike fans will really enjoy based on what I’ve seen so far. 

Lies of P is coming to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows so you can basically play it on every platform, except for the Nintendo Switch. It’ll cost 59.99 USD, which is a bit surprising in my opinion. I was not expecting this game to cost so much for an indie title so we’ll just have to see if it’s actually worth that price or not. From what I’ve played so far, it might be. It probably depends on the quality and length of Lies of P and how much gameplay there is.

Lords of the Fallen

Skipping ahead to October 13th, we have Lords of the Fallen or The Lords of the Fallen, which is supposedly a sequel or spiritual successor to the Lords of the Fallen game that was released in 2014. A lot of people thought that was a heavy version of Dark Souls or Soulslike that was very heavy compared to the actual Souls titles. I really enjoyed the original game, which was co-developed by CI Games and Deck13. 

Now The Lords of the Fallen is being developed by a completely different studio, namely, Hex Works but it’s still being published by CI Games. It’s coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. And again, it’s another action role-playing dark fantasy title. I think a lot of people have been excited about this since they’ve seen the gameplay reveal and trailers. We have a Lords of the Fallen Wiki and you can expect to see a lot of guides and coverage of this game. 

In October, particularly the second half of October, you’ll see intermixing on our YouTube channel of Lords of the Fallen, Starfield, and BG3. 

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

And lastly, we come to Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, which is the new CRPG being developed by Owlcat, who made Pathfinder Kingmaker and Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous that we have Wikis on. We’ve done some preliminary impressions on YouTube for Rogue Trader as well, and it’s something that I’ve been really looking forward to.

This game is completely turn-based compared to the other Pathfinder games, which used a real-time with pause system and then later on, they added a turn-based mode. But this game is completely turn-based. There’s also a big focus on the Warhammer 40K Universe so if you’re a big fan, then this title will certainly appeal to you. 

Unfortunately, even though there is a beta currently available for this game if you pre-order it, there’s still no information about its release date. A lot of people are suspecting that it will come out sometime in Q3 based on the launch schedules of all these other games but I think it’s going to be very hard for them to fit it in somewhere nicely. Maybe they could fit it at the end of September between Lies of P and The Lords of the Fallen or potentially after The Lords of the Fallen later in October would probably make the most sense. 

Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is coming to PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, and Xbox One, so you’ll be able to play it not only on PC but also on older-generation platforms as well. 

So that pretty much concludes our video on the Golden Summer of RPGs. You can see there are some insane titles here. I think most of the games on this list are going to be good, if not great. I would imagine some of them might be mediocre but I don’t think any of them are going to be bad. At worst, they may be categorized as a “Wait-for-Sale” type of game.

Also, players are really going to have a difficult time picking and choosing which games they want to play because they won’t have enough time to play all of them so they’ll have to some of them up probably later down the road. Or maybe on sale when they have some more time. 

We’ll do the best we can to give you guys our opinions and reviews about whether these games are worth it on day 1 or if you should wait for a sale. We’ll give you that information to help you make a better decision. 

Are all these amazing RPGs coming out in one summer? I mean, we just coming off the launches of Final Fantasy 16 and Diablo 4, both of which have rave reviews. This is an insane year for gaming. We also have Breath of the Wild 2 which just came out in May. What do you guys think? What games are you really looking forward to? How do you make a decision on what games you’re going to cut out or play later because you just don’t have the time? Or maybe don’t have the budget for all of these? Let me know in the comments below. 

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