Baldur's Gate 3 memes are catching up with Dungeons & Dragons
Baldur's Gate 3 uses Dungeons & Dragons rules that have existed since 2014. Based on a Reddit post, they are finally having the same realization about Warlocks.
Today, a meme was posted to the Baldur’s Gate 3 subreddit. It’s a simple set up. The image shows a pie chart with a tiny sliver of blue, while the rest is red. The top of the image reads “Warlock Gameplay.” The red represents Eldritch Blast while the blue represents Hunger of Hadar, another common warlock spell. The post has over nine thousand upvotes. It seems that finally, the Baldur’s Gate 3 community is catching up to well known Dungeons & Dragons memes.
Baldur’s Gate 3 meme shows how far the community has come
Baldur’s Gate 3 is famous for using the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons rules for its gameplay elements, with a few helpful tweaks here and there. These rules have been around since they were introduced back in 2014 through the actual physical Player’s Handbook. The meme references the Warlock class, one of twelve core classes in D&D and in Baldur’s Gate 3. Warlocks are unique in that they gain access to a cantrip (a spell that doesn’t use a spell slot to cast) called Eldritch Blast. It’s a vague blast of energy that is meant to be vague so that any Warlock can make it fit with their chosen style. Mechanically, Eldritch Blast has excellent range, potential for the highest damage of any cantrip, and thanks to the Warlock class, it can also become highly customizable.
The meme in question.Posted to the Baldur's Gate 3 Subreddit by u/ozangeo, Warlock Symbol from Baldur's Gate 3, Developer: Larian Studios
As with any RPG, there is always a divide between optimizers and casual players. Optimizers will find the best, most useful features to create the optimal build, while casual players might choose features based on what feels fun or what fits their character. When creating a Warlock, in either Baldur’s Gate 3 or base Dungeons & Dragons, not adding Eldritch Blast to your chosen cantrips would be considered suboptimal. Some players will multi-class one level of Warlock just to get this cantrip, that’s how useful it is. It quickly becomes the default action to take on your turn. It deals solid damage, can hit enemies from far away, and doesn’t use the Warlock’s 2 precious spell slots, which will be best saved for higher level spells.
For further context, I love Baldur’s Gate 3, but I have also been a Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master (or DM, someone who runs the games for other players) for years, long before Baldur’s Gate 3 was even in Early Access. It was funny for me to wake up this morning and see this meme with so many upvotes. In a D&D community, this meme would feel outdated and unoriginal. In those communities, everyone has known about how good and popular Eldritch Blast is since practically 2014, so it’s fun to see this newer community fall into the same jokes.
I imagine many Baldur’s Gate 3 players are like me, they had some familiarity with D&D before trying the game. But I also imagine there are lots of players who are experiencing this ruleset for the first time. In many ways, it goes to show how faithfully these rules were adapted by Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios. It almost feels like I could pinpoint the same timeline of memes with both communities. Anyway, writing this story has convinced me. I think it’s time to go play some Baldur’s Gate 3.
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