Baldur’s Gate 3 made one class OP by removing its weakness

While Baldur’s Gate 3 is surprisingly faithful to the D&D 5E rules, it’s still a video game and had to make changes to fit the format. This resulted in one class getting its weakness stripped away, turning it into one of the most powerful in the game. 

Baldur’s Gate 3 has a great deal of DNA from Larian Studios’ previous RPG, Divinity: Original Sin 2. This resulted in some of the item systems from Divinity being brought forward, such as the gimmick arrows, elemental surfaces, and even the crafting system. 

The abundance of items that were inherent to Divinity’s gameplay seeped into Baldur’s Gate 3, which made it a lot easier to play one of the D&D classes, especially as it has a rap for being one of the trickiest to master in the tabletop game: the Warlock. 

The Warlock class cheated its way to magic (resulting in fewer spells)

The D&D Player’s Handbook has three arcane spellcaster classes, which all made their way into Baldur’s Gate 3: the Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard. 

Sorcerers have a natural affinity for magic, usually as a result of having a supernatural being as an ancestor, such as a dragon or an elemental. Wizards, meanwhile, have to study to learn how to control magic, using their knowledge to uncover the rituals and words that let them master the Weave. 

This results in the Sorcerer and Wizard having access to lots of spells from the get-go. The biggest difference between the two classes is that Sorcerers get access to fewer spells, but can alter them with their natural abilities, while Wizards can potentially learn every spell in the game, but only receive benefits from their chosen field of study. 

Warlocks don’t have any talent for magic at all. Instead, they gained access to magical powers by cutting a deal with a higher power. These otherwordly patrons can include demons, devils, angels, Cthulhu monsters, genies, or even a powerful undead, like Count Strahd von Zarovich.

This unusual route to magical might mean that Warlocks barely get any spell slots compared to the other classes in D&D. You’ll only have two spell slots at any one time throughout most of Baldur’s Gate 3, which is what Sorcerers and Wizards have at level 1. 

The trade-off is that Warlocks can restore spell slots after short rests. They also receive lots of cool powers that are unique to them, as well as abilities that improve the amazing Eldritch Blast Cantrip, which is their primary weapon. 

Baldur’s Gate 3 is stuffed with more magic items than most D&D campaigns

One aspect of Baldur’s Gate 3 greatly changes the D&D 5E class dynamic: magic items, or rather their sheer abundance. 

Those who played Baldur’s Gate 1 & 2, Neverwinter Nights 1 & 2, or even the Pathfinder video games will notice that players are given tons of magic items, more than they’ll ever need, and most will be sold at shops.

This reflected the D&D of the era, as magic items were a huge part of the game, and characters were expected to have some if they were going to survive the challenges ahead.

D&D 5E drastically changed that philosophy, focusing more on innate character abilities (like the ones gained from their class) rather than items given away at the DM’s discretion. This means it’s much rare to see magic items in D&D 5E campaigns. 

Baldur’s Gate 3 threw this thinking out: after all, it’s a video game, and acquiring loot is important in that form of media. This means that it won’t be long until your party is drowning in potions, scrolls, suits of armor, rings, and weapons, more than you’ll ever need. 

No class benefits from this more than the Warlock, as they don’t need to go begging their daddy/mommy Patron for spells as often.  

Warlock spell restrictions are ignored because of all of the scrolls

The problem with playing a Warlock in most D&D campaigns is that you have to be super careful about when you use your spell slots, as you’re never guaranteed access to a short rest to replenish them.

This can lead to decision paralysis, as you always have to worry about wasting a spell slot and not having it later when a bigger threat shows up. 

Fortunately, this isn’t as much of an issue in Baldur’s Gate 3, and we’re not just talking about how easy it is to rest in the game. You don’t need to worry about running out of spells because the game throws scrolls at you all the time, to say nothing of items that contain a once-per-day use of magical effects. 

During my first playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3, I never felt the pinch of the Warlock’s restricted slots. By the time I reached Act III, I had so many scrolls that I never came close to using them all, even during the most brutal fights. 

So, Baldur’s Gate 3 removes the Warlock’s weakness, leaving you with an easy restorative method for your actual spell slots and leaving you with all of your cool, unique class abilities and Eldritch Blast buffs intact. This makes the Warlock an OP class, especially compared to its tabletop counterpart. 

It’s a shame that the Warlock subclass doesn’t have a huge effect on the story, as they currently only offer a few minor dialogue options throughout the story. If the three Patron choices were as important as Wyll’s, then the Warlock would easily be the #1 Baldur’s Gate 3 class choice.