Baldur’s Gate 3is renowned for so many reasons, from its vast swathe of dialogue to its plethora of interesting choices that genuinely impact the overall story and vastly alter each playthrough. However, modders have had a field day withBG3, altering it and its many systems to better suit their style of play and appease fans demanding specific features that the many patches haven’t been able to implement. These mods can be genuinely groundbreaking and can heighten the overall experience, although not all of them are as worthwhile as others.
One of thebest features ofBaldur’s Gate 3is its excellent turn-based combat, that balances strategy, free form decision-making, and a variety of abilities while making it completely approachable for newcomers to the genre. It’s a deeply complex system that is at all times fun and intense, making every encounter an epic battle that feels as if it could be the last. However,one mod seeks to change that by transformingBaldur’s Gate 3combat into something utterly different, and it’s, unfortunately, made all the worse for it, stripping the game of one of its best assets.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Mod Makes It A Real-Time Action Game
It Removes One Of The Best Parts Of BG3
Modder and YouTubertinybike(viaVG247) hasreleased a very early version of a mod forBaldur’s Gate 3calledBrawlthat completely transforms the turn-based combat into real-time action battles. This turns it into more of aDiablo-like game, with players utilizing all of their skills and attacks as they would in any other isometric action-focused game. It’s an impressive feat, not simply because of how it manages to turnBG3into an almost entirely different experience, but because of how much tinybike has managed to tweak to get it running, at least mostly.
However, while it’s undeniable tinybike has made something incredible here,Brawlremoves the finely tuned turn-based combat that is one ofBaldur’s Gate 3’s best accomplishments. It is fair to say that not every turn-based game manages to nail the flow and pacing of its combat, resulting in something that feels sluggish and less engaging than a real-time action experience. The genre has felt fairly niche as of late, with only a handful of standout titles attracting a large playerbase, such asXCOM,Persona 5, andLike A Dragon, which turned the action-packedYakuzacombat into a stylish turn-based affair.
However,BG3absolutely nailed every aspect of its combat, ensuring it felt fresh with each engagement, was constantly intense,and encouraged the player to experimentwith its range of builds and abilities. It’s easily one of the best turn-based games available, with so much care put into making it feel as if it has as many endless possibilities asBG3’s campaign. Naturally, fans of turn-based combat don’t have to downloadBrawl- it is a free fan-made project after all - and there are many other great mods, including one thatadds a whole new game mode toBG3.
The Real-Time Action Mod For BG3 Aims To Make It Feel More Like BG1 & BG2
The Original Games Didn’t Have Strictly Turn-Based Combat
It is important to note that whileBaldur’s Gate 3follows Larian Studios' penchant for turn-based combat, the originalBaldur’s Gategames did not have turn-based combat. Instead, they utilized a real-time witih pause model, which allowed players to fight in real-time, using their various abilities, while pausing to have greater control over the battlefield and ordering their companions to attack specific enemies or perform certain actions.This is the style of combat the tinybike’s mod,Brawl, is trying to achieve, bringingBaldur’s Gate 3closer to its predecessors.
So far, this has worked well, although there are issues, such as how enemies are more powerful than the player, with tinybike admitting on the mod’sGitHubpage that they are “getting shellacked by a group of level 2 scrubs.” Of course, it is the nature of mods to transform a game more to the modder’s liking, and in this case,it’s clear tinybike wanted to see ifBG3would work with the originalBaldur’s Gatestyle of combat. That’s not to say it improvesBG3’scombat model, but it’s nevertheless incredible what tinybike has managed to accomplish so far.
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It’s refreshing to know that the mod comes from a place of fandom rather than an attempt to get rid of the turn-based combat on the misguided notion that it’s an inferior form of combat in games, as that is not true. Turn-based combat absolutely has its place in video games, working extraordinarily well in the likes of SRPGs such asFire Emblem, and, of course, inBaldur’s Gate 3. However, while this is an impressive mod that clearly has its audience, this is not one ofBaldur’s Gate 3’sbest modsfor those who enjoy its current turn-based combat.
