Larian has revealed how Baldur’s Gate 3 mods are influencing the studio’s upcoming Divinity game. Baldur’s Gate 3 has proven to be immensely popular with modders, and Larian is looking a little closer to home to improve Divinity. There’s no shortage of inspiration, but Larian has revealed specifics on which type of mods players will be able to see glimpses of in the upcoming RPG.
Since Larian released official modding tools for Baldur’s Gate 3, talented modders have been given the keys to change pretty much anything they want in the critically-acclaimed role-playing game. From small quality-of-life changes to huge new Baldur’s Gate 3 campaigns, there is something for everyone here. Crucially, Larian is listening for Divinity. It makes sense. With such a wealth of inspiration from talented creators, there’s no reason to ignore features that could improve the game, especially if players have already given them their approval by downloading these mods in huge numbers.
Forget Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian’s True Masterpiece is the 93 Metacritic RPG From 2017
Baldur’s Gate 3 expanded Larian Studios’ audience in a major way, but the developer’s best work is actually its 2017 offering.
Larian is Looking to Baldur’s Gate 3 Mods to Improve Divinity
In a recent Divinity AMA on Reddit, one user asked about the Baldur’s Gate 3 mods that have caught the developers’ eye for inclusion next time around. Several developers from the studio answered the question. Head of Publishing Michael Douse jokingly responded with “car wildshape,” a mod that allows players to transform into a car. Head of Design Nick Pechenin gave a more serious answer, revealing, “We’re taking notes on all of the UI mods for sure… we had more improvements in mind that we just couldn’t cram into our releases,” claiming that the developer was just happy to make the UI moddable in the first place. Art Director Alena Dubrovina said, “Love all the mods regarding player appearance! Lots of very creative ideas in terms of combining outfits, hairstyles and what not,” revealing, “we take note of what our community wants.”
When it comes to Baldur’s Gate 3 UI mods, there are tons that offer very small changes that can make a big change to the overall experience. This suggests that Larian is looking to iterate over BG3 in this regard, rather than make huge unnecessary overhauls. But the potential is pretty much limited for new character mods. During the same AMA, it was claimed that Divinity will feature better character creation that Baldur’s Gate 3, which is going to be a huge task to live up to. But by taking inspiration from what the community has already shown it wants via existing mods, Larian is giving itself the best chance to live up to player expectations.
However, there is one mod that Divinity won’t be taking from Baldur’s Gate 3, which could be controversial for some. One user in the thread asked about the possibility of native support for the WASD movement mod, which lets PC players move their characters using WASD instead of pointing and clicking. It has long been considered to be one of the best Baldur’s Gate 3 mods and is among the most downloaded for the entire game. However, Head of Gameplay Artem Titov was concise and direct in his answer, saying, “No.” Some were very disappointed with this, with one stating, “I beg reconsideration.” This doesn’t seem likely, but it’s ultimately understandable – the WASD mod does fundamentally change how Baldur’s Gate 3 handles, and would perhaps represent a bigger gameplay change than is being given credit for. No doubt, assuming Divinity is moddable, a similar mod will arise for the next game, too.
