Summary
- Larian Studios chose to implement a level cap of 12 in Baldur's Gate 3 instead of D&D's level cap of 20 to maintain balance and prevent the game from becoming impossibly long.
- D&D spells at higher levels are extremely powerful and would be difficult to implement in a video game without a DM to decide how they affect the world.
- Balancing spellcasters with weapon and fighting abilities is a challenge, and raising the level cap to 20 would leave some classes behind in terms of balance.
Despite being based on Dungeons and Dragons 5e, Larian Studios decided to forego D&D's level cap of 20 to instead implement a level cap of 12 in Baldur's Gate 3. Cutting the level cap nearly in half, especially in a game that could take hundreds of hours to complete, may not appear to make sense but, like the other changes Larian Studios made in adapting the D&D systems into a single-player video game, there were several reasons behind doing so. These reasons mainly concern the length of Baldur's Gate 3 and its magic system.
Players familiar with D&D's leveling system and gameplay mechanics will understand that it can take years of a single campaign to reach level 12, while the spells accessible at level 20 are extremely hard to implement in a game like Baldur's Game 3, to the point of absurdity. Both of these reasons contributed to the seemingly low level cap of Baldur's Gate 3.
The 'Perfect' Playthrough Choices for Baldur's Gate 3 Explained
While there aren't any objectively 'right' decisions, there are some choices that can make a playthrough of Baldur's Gate 3 feel more complete.
Leveling and the Length of Baldur's Gate 3
The Leveling System in D&D 5e
Baldur's Gate 3 is a long game with hundreds of hours worth of content in a single playthrough despite a level cap of 12. Even if players streamline their playthroughs to focus on the main storyline, there's enough content for dozens of hours in a single campaign. This aligns with the typical D&D leveling system, where leveling is carefully controlled, and power scaling feels gradual, with incremental jumps over time.
One of the reasons D&D campaigns adopt this leveling system is because many typical campaigns often last for years and cannot accommodate a leveling system where the characters level up too often, where they'd become too powerful too quickly, or hit the level cap with years of the campaign ahead of them. But, because of this system, many player characters rarely make it to even level 12.
In Baldur's Gate 3, level 12 works as a cap considering the length of the game. To put it simply: a cap of level 20 would make the game impossibly long, with at least an entire additional act needed to accommodate it. It also implements a balance of rewarding the player by leveling up at key intervals without delving into the more overpowered abilities of D&D's higher levels. At the same time, it makes each level up feel meaningful and forces the player to consider Baldur's Gate 3 party builds, as there are limited resources to pool into each character.
A Level Cap Balances the Party in Baldur's Gate 3
5e's Spells are Insane at Higher Levels
Aside from making the game impossibly long, D&D' s level 20 cap would bring a host of new problems in the form of its spells. Spells at these levels are on a par with what the gods of Baldur's Gate 3 use, including the infamous use of Wish that Vlaakith uses in the githyaanki creche. Dimension hopping, seeing into the future, stopping time, and killing creatures with nothing but a word are all spells that become available to Baldur's Gate 3 spellcasters at these levels. These spells would be difficult to implement in a video game, where there isn't a DM there to decide how these spells affect the world on an individual basis.
Baldur's Gate 3 Leaves No One Behind
Another issue is the question of balancing. While 5e spellcasters are notoriously difficult to play in the first few levels, they outpace their mundane brethren and balancing their powerful spells with weapon and fighting abilities has always been a challenge for any DM and the D&D system in general. Baldur's Gate 3 has done a great job at balancing these classes and has even fixed up some of the more forgotten classes, like Monk, but these classes would be left behind if the level cap were raised to 20.
Baldur's Gate 3
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 96 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- August 3, 2023
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Larian Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Larian Studios
- Engine
- Divinity 4.0
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- Full cross-platform play.
WHERE TO PLAY
Abducted, infected, lost. You are turning into a monster, but as the corruption inside you grows, so does your power. Forge a tale of fellowship and betrayal, sacrifice and survival, and the lure of absolute power. Caught in a conflict between devils, deities, and sinister otherworldly forces, you and your party will determine the fate of the Forgotten Realms.
THE ULTIMATE D&D EXPERIENCE
Choose from a wide selection of D&D races and classes, or play as an origin character with a hand-crafted background. Adventure, loot, battle, and romance as you journey through the Forgotten Realms and beyond. Play alone or as a party of up to four in multiplayer – and select your companions carefully.
A CINEMATIC STORYTELLING EPIC
Forged with the new Divinity 4.0 engine, Baldur’s Gate 3 gives you unprecedented freedom to explore, experiment, and interact with a world that reacts to your choices. A grand, cinematic narrative brings you closer to your characters than ever before, as you venture through our biggest world yet. Romance, deceive, aid, obstruct, and grow alongside your friends thanks to Larian's next-generation RPG engine.
- Franchise
- Baldur's Gate
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, macOS
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- Metascore
- 96
