Baldur’s Gate 3 players have been misreading spell artwork since launch
Larian StudiosBaldur’s Gate 3’s spell icons are mostly easy to read, even when shrunk down on the UI, but some have confused players, as they can be interpreted in multiple different ways.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a vastly different game from its predecessors, and not just because of the twenty-year gap and the nearly completely different D&D ruleset. The shift to a 3D world and turn-based combat system means there is a world of difference between the Baldur’s Gate titles.
One aspect of the older games that was kept (outside of the Bhaalspawn storyline) is some of the spell icons. Spells like Magic Missile and Sleep have artwork on the UI that longtime players should recognize.
There’s at least one spell in the game that has a misleading icon, according to users on the Baldur’s Gate 3 Reddit, who claim that Vicious Mockery’s artwork looks like someone crying, even though it’s meant to be someone tunneling their hands over their mouth, to ensure they’re heard.
“Oh.. so those weren’t two massive streams of tears pouring out of the person’s eyes :’) well, thanks for telling me haha,” one user wrote, while another said, “I also thought it was someone crying cause I called them names.”
“I used to think it’s a person cry laughing casting vicious mockery like “lmao look at this idiot,” another user wrote, while another joked, “If it makes you feel any better, I thought this icon was a sea lion and the lines were its whiskers.”
It’s possible that the artwork was intended to be read both ways. Vicious Mockery is a powerful Cantrip that involves you insulting an enemy so hard that you hurt them, so it makes sense that it could represent both the insulter and the target.
As Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t have any Bard companions (well, until the upcoming patch, at least), there’s a chance that plenty of players missed out on Vicious Mockery. Those who will get to utilize Alfira’s power in the new patch will hopefully recognize the Cantrip’s icon for what it is, or at least come up with an amusing alternative all their own.