So I hit New Game on the 10th of July into the 11th of July and have now completed Act 1. Managed to do it in about 14 hours or so, which is about par for my recent Saoirse run. I was able to clear Act 2 twice recently in about 8 or 9 hours with no long rests so am hoping to repeat that, is it doable?
The party so far
Gale Evocation Wizard 7
Wizards really got nerfed in Bg3. I have zero desire to scribe a load of spell scrolls; often its just better to pick what you actually need at level up and simply use the scroll and move on.
I have Fireball and Wall of Fire etc now so should be fine.
Lae'zel Swarmkeeper Ranger 7
Occasionally she is the MVP, occasionally she is just there. Swarmkeeper extra damage after hitting with attacks plus Hunter Mark pops off crazy damage; not as much as an Open-Handed Monk but it's nice seeing numbers everywhere.
It's nice to have someone with decent HP, armour and damage potential but it's far from the most exciting. Super satisfying to do the Swarm Attack after hitting once though. Not sure if I prefer Bees, Jellies or Moths yet, I've been alternating every level.
Shadowheart Starry Druid 7
Not sure how to feel about this; I was using Starry form a lot in second half of Act 1 (levels 4>6) so a lot of the swamp, Goblin camp, Underdark and Forge but other than the incredible bonus action breath it wasn't amazing.
For the last bit in the monastery I had her take an Elixir of the Colossus and go Owlbear so she was 5005kg and with Tavern Brawler she was just a monster. Constantly in the way but Crushing Flight and double claws attack could do a tasty 40-60 damage everytime.
Astarion Lore Bard 7
Probably the least effective member, but he gets the job done. Dual wielding blades and dual wielding crossbows; occasional buffs and healing, increasingly large number of control spells.
Timeline so far
10 July 2026 - new game; cleared as far as level 4;
11 July 2026 - cleared from level 4 all the way to level 7 right as I picked up the Blood of Lathander; barely defeated creche boss and then Undead fight at end of Act 1 (crashed again due to Void Bulb / Wall of Fire shenanigans) and met Elminster, saved in camp right as we moved to Act 2.
Assessment
It's going fine; still not in love with druids but they can be fun; Rangers are fine too; plus bards... and wizards it's like I'm playing all the classes/subclasses I am least interested in (in Bg3). Looking forward to the Shadowheart All-Cleric run and Karlach All-Barbarian run more now.
Also these Origin runs are just the death of interesting characters; Gale is such a great character but when you play as him you only hear him in banter while travelling around, he just becomes a silent protagonist. Really looking forward to my 'Dark Urge as Sorcerer' run in the future, they nailed that.
