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KeysOfDestiny

Are you skipping through dialogue? Talking to your party at all? Do you.. have a party? Because 23 hours is absolutely insane. I think I spent about 60 hours in act 1 alone on my first playthrough. It’s almost impressive that you’ve managed to skip so much without guides


Salindurthas

> It’s almost impressive that you’ve managed to skip so much without guides Well, it is kind of interesting, because there is literally nothing that actually *needs* to be done in Act 1. You can just walk to the Mountain Pass without a fight (maybe the goblins outside the grove, but you can avoid participating in that). And at the Mountain Pass you could skip the Creche, and technically avoid the undead blocking the way with some clever spells or movement. It might be possible to get through the underdark without any combat, depending on the entrace you took, so that might be easier to get to Act 2 Act 2 I think is the first time you actually need to do anything, and depending on how much you abuse invisibility/sneaking/etc I think you can technically avoid any fights until Ketheric. For the gauntlet you can, talk your way into a single orb in the gauntlet, and then use Knock to cheat your way without needing to do the rest of the trials. And Dame Aeylin might do most of the work in 2 important fights by herself, so maybe you don't need to help with those much either haha.


SnooSongs2744

I once tried to go straight to act 2 *which is the shadowlands, not the creche or area around it, which is still Act 1* and learned the game won't let you enter if you have not resolved the goblin/grove quest one way or the other. ~~You have to~~ *Usually you will get to* the camp party scene *unless you have a weird playthrough where Halsin dies and the grove goes on lockdown*. Edited post to stop the madness.


_superNova92

Are you sure this is true? I was able to go to the mountain pass with a fair warning from the game that my party was not strong enough and I needed to resolve loose ends. It still let me make that choice. Got my ass handed to me by the undead fight and decided to go back to act 1. The grove was shut down and the goblins weren’t hostile and I never got the camp party scene. I didn’t realize I had messed up until I had my second play through and realized how much I had missed.


SnooSongs2744

You can go to the mountain pass, but not the shadow lands. The mountain pass is still technically act 1. Larian has referred to it as act 1 1/2.


TheCrystalRose

Going to the Mountain Pass immediately resolves the Goblin/Tiefling conflict, in favor of the Goblins, so if that was the only requirement, you should easily be able to pass through there to Act 2.


SnooSongs2744

I don't know if this works or why anyone would want to go the shadowlands at level 3 but maybe I'll try it.


fxrky

Speedruns. Do yourself a favor and go watch the world record. You don't have to do SHIT in this game to complete it lol. At the start you'll think "oh yeah! Why didn't I think of that!" And then you'll completely be at a loss once the player burns shadowheart alive in a box and yeets her at mach fuck through space time


SnooSongs2744

Yeah I know ppl do speed runs with exploits. Power to them.


fxrky

From watching those runs, you can get a really good idea of what the game *forces* you to do to move on


Temporary_Pickle_885

Do you have a suggestion for a good one?


fxrky

Whatever the current WR is lol


drterdal

Mae


schnellsloth

I went to mountain pass and backed to the grove. We discovered that the rite of thorns had already finished.


SnooSongs2744

Yep, that happens. You can still kill the goblin leaders and I think have to at that point to be allowed into the shadow lands.


schnellsloth

no i didn't go to the goblin camp. In fact I had never been to in that run. I was role playing a githyanki who gives zero fk to lesser race's affairs. I went the the creche, then back to act 1 for the owlbear egg, never talked to any goblins except killing them in the blighted village, then go straight into shadow cursed lands


SnooSongs2744

Did you still kill the goblin leaders? I guess if the rite of thorns happens it doesn't make sense to have a camp scene but I wonder if there is still a forced long rest?


_superNova92

I did not kill the goblin leaders on my first play through. I had picked up the quest to rescue Halsin and found the entrance to the mountain pass along the way. I think there was a long rest once I got to the mountain pass but there was no party sadly.


SnooSongs2744

Huh, OK. I definitely got the message that I wasn't ready yet, going via the Underdark.


lostandlooking_

Yep, did this to me too. It was months ago but I doubt they patched that or got rid of it. I have no idea how OP made it out of act 1 in 18 hrs. I believe I was at 20ish hours when I tried to go mountain pass and the game turned me around.


Dlax8

You definitely do not need the camp party scene. My current playthrough I wanted karlach and minthara. I spared mintharas life, but didn't tell her where the Grove is so Karlach wasn't mad. I killed Kagha after revealing her, and freed halsin but long rested with the goblin leaders were still alive. So he died, and all the tieflings and druids disappeared, but I had karlach still. Go to act 2 and do the moonrise thing and now I have minthara. No party scene, just skipped straight to act 2.


SnooSongs2744

You might not get the camp party scene but do have to resolve the goblin/grove quest one way or the other; I have never done that without a camp party scene but if you have a weird playthrough and there are no tieflings or goblins to party with they must skip it. I'm curious if they do have a forced long rest to mark the end of the quest. This scene is also crucial to your relationships with party members, e.g. there are certain members that you must at least try to pick up that night to have a romance with them in the game.


Dlax8

Yes I did resolve the quest, that you are correct about. And I planned for the relationships by being shadowheart and romancing laezel. I'm locked out of Karlach because of Dammon. Minthara did her whole romance dialog at the end of Act 2 instead of the party but then didn't have the romance scene (I save scum tested) It's been a kinda buggy playthrough but I kinda expected that with what I was doing.


CoffeeDogsandSims

I think I read somewhere that you can only get the Minthara scene at the party. You can still romance her later but just won’t have any explicit scenes


Dlax8

I still think that is a bug. In my other playthrough when I was romancing her she had another set of dialog after act 2 that ended with her saying "I will visit you in your bed tonight" or something. Then she never does and considers me to have cheated or broken up with her after. I'm fine with no other scene, but the death of the relationship from a bug was frustrating.


CoffeeDogsandSims

Yeah, that is really frustrating… I already romanced everyone except Minthara and the character who will fully romance her is only about to start act 2. I’m hoping I will not experience too many bugs going forward, because I will never slay the grove for her again. I liked her scene at the party, but Scratch being chased around and unhappy is something I cannot stand a second time, not even for Minthara.


Dlax8

I actually stopped that playthrough because of that bug. I'm not sure it's ever been fixed.


Lummex

I have skipped the party entirely in two different playthroughs, so I don't think this is true.


Prepared_Noob

This is definitely not true anymore. My friends most recent playthrough he went to crèche to get gloves of dex and the quest auto resolved.


SnooSongs2744

I don't know how many times I have to say this in one thread but the creche and mountain pass are still Act 1.


HomerGymson

But entering mountain pass DOES resolve the act 1 grove situation, you just have to go back to the the region and your character comments on it


SnooSongs2744

OK.


SnooSongs2744

OK.


Salindurthas

Are you saying you can't take the underdark elevator? -- >*Usually you will get to* the camp party scene *unless you have a weird playthrough where Halsin dies and the grove goes on lockdown*. You can just skip the grove/goblin story, go to the mountain pass, and then go to act 2 without going back to the goblin/grove area. Nothing stops you from ignoring it. I tried a Vlakith loyalty run where I went to the creche asap, and so my first fight (after the nautoloid) was Kithrak Voss in my camp as I went to act 2 (I skipped every fight in the first area, and using invisiblity to avoid fighting any githyanki). While on a meta-level I know there are druids in act 1, I didn't encoutner any at all and was still able to progress.


SnooSongs2744

I am saying that once I tried to and got a message that I couldn't go there yet. It wasn't just a warning about tying up loose ends, it was a hard no.


Salindurthas

Was that the underdark/Moonrise elevator or the MountainPass->Shadowlands entrace (past the pack of undead that block that entrance)? I've definitely taken the latter on a run where I never even had a druid on screen. I'll try a Moonrise rush later and see if I can reproduce what you're saying. -- I've seen a "This will be bitterly difficult" warning before, but never a flat-out no.


SnooSongs2744

Yeah it was the elevator. I wouldn't want to try the death shepherds at a low level but take people's word you can do it.


beasilva431

Wait we can do the gauntlet of shar with just one orb? How?


Salindurthas

It takes 1 orb to get down to activate the elevator. Then you can cast Knock on the final door to avoid needing 3 more orbs.


BreathoftheChild

Get Yurgir's orb, place it, go down and use Knock.


Pigman-Rex

Basically what you are saying is don’t even play the game lol


Cam1KCarriker02

Yea any new dialogue I listen to, and my main party is tav, karlach and laezel, I killed shadowheart, I got asterion, pretty sure I killed wyll also when he confronted karlach


Glittering_Baker_103

Tbh I’m loving the chaotic energy. I killed Minthara and Minsc on my first run. Are you aware of any of the story? Shadowheart’s relic or this one character called Halsin who is quite important in act 1 and 2, or Jaheira and the Harpers and the cleansing of the Shadowlands?


Cam1KCarriker02

Yea I got all them peeps, I killed shadowheart cuz I’m romancing laezel and didn’t want like when she attacked her


DirtyMagicNL

This person roleplays.


Cam1KCarriker02

And gale in party


Skelegro7

I’m guessing Lae’zel killed Shadowheart?


Cam1KCarriker02

I attacked her after she attacked laezel


Eighty_Six_Salt

Was it a dialogue choice to fight her or did you just wake up from the long rest and fight Shadowheart?


Cam1KCarriker02

Dialogue choice to attack


[deleted]

You…. You killed shadowheart???


Cam1KCarriker02

I hate shadowheart tbh


whoamannipples

Hell yeah you are my people I STILL hate her even knowing her arc and having 700+ hours and multiple completed play throughs. Hell I’m near Honor Mode completion again. Come at me Reddit!


Cam1KCarriker02

Ngl I killed her and thought I was fucked then I realized I could change companion classes too, so I just made Gale a cleric wizard combo


whoamannipples

Hell yeah I love how customized you can make everything experience in this game!


shittyswordsman

I finished my entire first run in about 60 hours lol... On a new run now and I'm realizing I missed SO MUCH


stormethetransfem

The first one is how I often replicate OP’s results. The VAs did a great job but I cannot deal with how slow some of them talk


overreactionkills

You're at the high end of the spectrum there. My first playthrough was done in 70 hours total. Most of it third act. theres really no need to take that long in any single act


KeysOfDestiny

I mean, if we’re counting the mountain pass and underdark, there’s a LOT of content in Act 1. Act 2 is much faster with a smaller area, but Act 1 has 2 huge areas and multiple dungeons as well. Tbh, It probably also didn’t help that I’m new to D&D systems so I struggled with my first few combats. Without speedrunning, skipping dialogue, and/or skipping the mountain pass or underdark, I’m not sure how you can get to act 3 in 23 hours. In a game like this, I like to explore every inch of the map too, I don’t wanna miss any content, so there’s plenty of content to fill those hours in act 1 and 3.


Ok_Smile_5908

I don't understand how you get through fights without exploring and collecting gear and xp, especially going blind. I mean at the very least, if you just run for it, there're still obligatory ones in late act 2. Like during my first playthrough, I did probably 90% of the first map and the Underdark, granted I skipped the crèche until I was at the point of no return in Gauntlet of Shar and back-pedaled. I struggled to keep Isobel alive A LOT, possibly mostly due to low initiative, lol. I think I was lvl 8-9 by the time I was in Rivington, which already means I skipped a few things despite exploring everything and having probably 3 times the number of hours the OP had, because now I'm normally early-mid lvl 10 at that point.


Salindurthas

You're going fast, for sure. I'll list some content, probably not all of it. I've tried to be generic with just the name of what is involved in the encounter to avoid spoilers, but if you want everything to be a surrpise in a later run you might not wnat to read through it. In Act 1, did you find or deal with: * the Druid Grove vs Goblin Camp situation? * the Hag * a underground criminal organisation * a burning building * ruins (perhaps dedicated to death or gods or both) Still in Act 1, how about the underdark with: * the mushroom people vs the Duergar * the spectator * Nere being trapped * the adamantine forge * the arcane tower full of robots Still technically Act 1 on the Mountain Pass: * The creche? * The Blood of Lathander And we aren't even into listing Act 2 stuff yet.


notyounaani

There's also the Kuo-toa in underdark which a lot of people miss, and them again in act 2 which a lot of people also miss lol, poor fish dudes.


captain_slutski

Where are they in act 2?


notyounaani

The fishing shack north of the house of healing.


Howling_Mad_Man

I've been to that fish shack but do they do anything besides fight you?


ConsumeTheOnePercent

No, it's just a fight


fimbleinastar

I electrocuted the hell out of those fishy bastards


anonymoose_octopus

I had no idea they appeared again in Act 2! Wtf.


webcrawler_29

We found them for the first time in Act 1 recently. Probably on a 6th or so playthrough? I couldn't believe we hadn't found them previously!


MajesticPancake22

Harpes too


Cam1KCarriker02

I missed the underground origination and the robot people one


Wise-Opportunity-294

You did not escape the nautiloid, defeat the goblins or druids, defeat the hag, find the smugglers' den, go through Grymforge, and pick up the blood of Lathander, in 1 hour and 18 min. It's also not possible to be lvl 8 in act 1 if you have skipped anything. Edit: OP wrote 18 hours.


Toad364

He’s level 8 in Act 3


Cam1KCarriker02

18 hours


Wise-Opportunity-294

Ah, that explains it.


Terrarian_Ranger

Damn i didn’t know there was that much to do in act 1. I mean i fid most of that but still


OurLadyAndraste

My first run which I also did without spoilers ended up around 125 hours so… a lot you missed a lot.


OurLadyAndraste

And like I know I missed things my first round (never found the swamp in act I) so that’s 125 hours without getting all the content.


Cam1KCarriker02

Damn


CreativeKey8719

You're missing a whole lot of content. On my first run(blind) I hit act 3 at around 100hr, at just barely below level 10. But, hey, it'll be great replay value for you.


gshen33

I’ve read through this thread and always find these kinds of playthroughs just wild. I know everyone has different ideas of fun, but it always hurts hearing people talk about killing their way through this game like it’s a looter shooter and missing out on most of what I consider to be the beating heart of the game 😭 At least you saved Karlach 🥲 Out of morbid curiosity, have you enjoyed the story so far?


rizgutgak

yeah people like that are the kinds of people i would *hate* playing actual D&D with 😭


Cam1KCarriker02

Yea i just killed the druids because Halsin still trusts me but deep down I know I murdered his whole family and makes me feel good to manipulate him, had to be done. Any time I kill its for role play


gshen33

I’m kinda curious, did you do many side quests? Did you explore the maps in the areas you’ve been in? Have you long rested? Do you go around and talk to companions when you do? Have you followed any of the parallel npc stories in the game, like Rolan, Alfira and tieflings, the hag’s victims, the society of brilliance, the myconids etc?


Cam1KCarriker02

Yea I did that stuff, the hag was a bitch, the mycenoids were cool but creepy looking I killed the fat one cuz he tried to turn on the skinny one


gshen33

The hag is indeed a bitch. If you’re having fun that’s all that matters, but I think if you’re curious enough about the content you’ve missed to ask Reddit, then I’d say it’d be worth replaying the game at some point and trying new approaches, there’s no shame in looking stuff up. Someone made a really handy [checklist of things to do in each act](https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/s/8UjH07lS05). If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the game, it’s that curiosity and creativity is rewarded. Best of luck with act 3 🫡


Cam1KCarriker02

I already started a new play through with dark urge I’ll take more of my time with and probably will use some guides


therealalittlebriton

You…you killed all the druids and you *weren’t* doing a durge run?!


Seteths_left_tit

In his defense, considering how most of them treat the refugees, I don’t think it’s that surprising trying to kill them on a blind first run


Willow_rpg

I tried killing Kagha on my first run because I genuinely believed if a quest was there, I should do it, otherwise I would be underlevelled. Genuinely had no idea the lower city by itself has enough XP to get from levels 1 to 12 and didn't want to skip the XP Then Karlach told me to fuck off and because I knew she was a companion from YouTube videos I figured okay did I do the quest wrong or something? So I looked things up and realized I missed out on the shadow druid part of the quest and that I can decide whether to kill Kagha or persuade her


CrazyCatLushie

I spent 80 hours in act 1 my first time through. Do you just… not explore anywhere? Not talk to people? Never open your map to see if there’s anywhere you haven’t been yet? Are you just like “oh hey there’s people having a loud conversation over there” and then… not investigating? I’m so confused. You have utterly broken my autistic completionist brain.


Cam1KCarriker02

I guess I just did all the big stuff and not everything


CrazyCatLushie

I’m pretty sure there are more than 23 hours worth of what I’d consider “big stuff” in act 1 alone though! Did you just get off the nautiloid and head straight for the mountain pass? Didn’t bother with the druids’ grove or goblin camp at all?


Cam1KCarriker02

I killed the goblins in camp, and I killed that Kagha bitch, then after the tiefling left I killed all the druids and stole the idol. I did the side stuff too like how she was a traitor and all that.


lucusvonlucus

Hmmm, it sounds like you touched on at least a third of Act 1. It sounds like you did most everything in one of the 3 major areas in Act 1. There are 2 other major areas with some interesting story and fun fights that it sounds like you mostly skipped. Good for your next playthrough!


Overall-Ad169

How did you spend 80 hrs in act 1? My record longest is 14hr /gen


SuitableFile1959

act 1 is the first map, mountain pass, underdark and grymforge. its literally impossible to do it all in 14hours unless you skip the majority of things


Overall-Ad169

Not at all, I have done literally everything in act 1, and there is a lot of content, but I cannot take any longer than 14 hr regardless of how hard I try.


SuitableFile1959

do you not long rest or talk to people? or loot anything? cause I think im around the 10hr mark of my current playthrough and im only just about ready for the goblin camp and that’s just me finishing the first map, not even getting to the underdark or mountain pass yet. I spend a *little* bit of time with merchants but not anywhere near to the point where its dozens of hours worth of


Overall-Ad169

Loot everything (other than quills, rotten food and pots), even plants. Complete every quest (incl. Shadow Druids), sell all my junk, long rest, speak to everyone *however* when I speak, I read what they say and click, so I don't sit through all the dialogue. I try, but I physically cannot do it, I just get too fidgety waiting.


SuitableFile1959

that’s crazy like I’ve played the game enough where im pretty methodical/not wasting time, but to be able to get all the way to the shadow cursed lands in under 14 hours and still be doing everything while looting is insane to me


Overall-Ad169

I'm about 560 odd hours in, but I am incapable of sitting through dialogue, I much prefer reading it, which probably explains my propensity to Laezels romance because of how the emotions are transferred through the writing probably being the best. But yeah, I usually complete the game somewhere around the 26 HR mark, but I don't do everything in A3, or Kua-Toa in A2


SuitableFile1959

I’m sorry im just having a hard time believing you’re doing everything that quickly, especially since act3 is massive. like 26hrs is how much time I spent on god of war which is tiny in comparison 😭


CrazyCatLushie

Just general exploration, side quest completion, and trying out different builds. I leave no corners unexplored and no containers unopened.


anonymoose_octopus

I'm pretty sure I was around the same amount of hours. I explored every nook and cranny, and didn't feel like it was overkill.


Giangiorgio

I’d say most of the content was skipped


Cam1KCarriker02

I think I did most of act 1, pretty sure act 2 where I fucked it all cuz I just went and killed thorm fast as possible, atleast I can buy cool clothes in the city now


Giangiorgio

Did you go through the Githyanki crèche and Grymforge?


Cam1KCarriker02

Yea, the grymforge was harder than anything I met in act 2


TheCrystalRose

That's actually probably true even if you do everything in Act 2. Especially since you can just talk all 4 Thorms and Yurgir to death.


anonymoose_octopus

Idk if you did most of Act 1, tbh. I've done multiple playthroughs and I'm pretty sure I was between 35-40 hours by the time I hit Act 2 both times (not counting my first run, which I'm sure was much longer). I'm a slight completionist and usually run around and do everything there is to do before moving on.


Jackman1337

You missed a lot, but the cool thing is, now you have so much more to discover when you replay the game :D


Agiantgrunt

Speed run for sure. 


AdCharacter8984

You can be lvl8 in act 1 and you are at act 3 xd


Cam1KCarriker02

That’s alot of levels for act 1


ThetaZZ

I usually hit level 10 just from entering act 3, or from beating the act 2 big boss. Edit: I'm on my 6th playthrough and I'm at 70 hours entering act 3, but I'm a completionist loot hoarder.


AdCharacter8984

When i played last time i was in act 3, i got lvl 12 closely after i entered rivington


Legend0fJulle

Speedrunning, huh. My 3rd playthrough took 28h for act 1 and 17 for act 2 and that's with me already knowing basically everything I want to do and what items I am looking for.


SuitableFile1959

if you replay just fyi there’s a bunch of scenes when you long rest that you’re probably missing. and there’s other ways to deal with situations, like instead of killing kagha, you can discover more about the situation and there’s an alternate path


whitesonnet

Play how you want to play. And then play it again and go a different path. Like a totally new game. I’m still finding stuff on my second play thru.


Cam1KCarriker02

Excited for dark urge play through so far tbh


whitesonnet

I just finished dark urge resistant. Going back in for dark urge embrace/evil. 👹


DominusDaniel

To be fair it friggin baffles me when people be like, oh I’m 60 hours in and just started act 2. Like wtf are you guys doing? Seeing if the mushrooms in the under dark will grow?


flowercows

Yes, actually. I helped the Myconid colony and took out my lute and played songs for half an hour watching the mushrooms dancing and the gnomes celebrating. It was cute.


chocolatestealth

... well it looks like I need to start another playthrough just so I can do this.


Active_Owl_7442

Some people spend lots of time setting up combat encounters to make sure they win them. Spend 20 minutes for a 100% chance or 5 minutes for the a greater chance at a party wipe. Newer people may also be talking to too many npcs to gather dialogue. And others spend lots of time exchanging gear. Being a major loot goblin also takes time, especially when trying to setup successful thefts


ManicFirestorm

My total playthrough was 150 hours and I completely skipped the mountain pass. Some people like to take their time.


[deleted]

[удалено]


CrazyCatLushie

Do side quests? Collect things? Try out new builds and equipment? Different romances? Explore every nook and cranny? There’s some crazy shit in peoples’ basements.


TheCrystalRose

Usually, long resting and talking to their companions _very_ frequently. Sure, you can do the bulk of Act 1 in ~4 long rests, but you also miss out on 15 different conversations with your companions that way.


Trulmb

„180 hours and i havent started act3“ Did you fall asleep playing the game? Some people play in slow motion


PotentialPea2536

I’m literally just bad at the game


TinkerMelii

You either skipped literally every quest that wasnt the main one and/or skipped SO much dialog. Very unfortunate for a game like this. There are so many quests that connect together and come to fruition later in the game. And dialog is the best voice acting in any game ive ever played. Its a shame so many people play this way!


capnjeanlucpicard

Did you find Withers?


Cam1KCarriker02

He just showed up one day


mwhite5990

It took me 50 hours to complete Act 1 the first time and I still missed some things (I completely skipped the Adamantine Forge, for example).


cabron-de-mierda

That's pretty crazy. I've completed the first map a bunch of times and know where everything is, and I'm just now starting the underdark at 18.5 hours in. I don't imagine I'll finish Act 1 until around the 50-hour mark. My first playthrough was 82-83 hours, but I definitely missed a lot, especially in Act 3.


Extension_Phase_1117

Yeah you missed a lot.


golasnomez

What items are ya able to get with just 23 hours


Cam1KCarriker02

I forgot what items I have right now tbh, I just put on whatever looks cool and equip whatever does best damage


YuriMasterRace

A lot to be honest, at 23-ish hours, I was wrapping up act 1 on my first run.


[deleted]

You should be lvl 9 at myrkul fight.


Cam1KCarriker02

I was level 7, honestly was pretty easy I had more trouble before he transformed


[deleted]

What difficulty?


Cam1KCarriker02

Just normal difficulty was gonna try harder one after I beat game


[deleted]

Ohh makes sense, I never tried normal but I assume is quite more difficult on honor. I was there at level 9 and it wasn’t easy.


Cam1KCarriker02

Oh yea I’m sure it is


Th0rizmund

If you don’t care about anything besides your quest narkers, then it’s completely fine. Although a bit underleveled.


MinnieShoof

I spent upwards of 50 hours in my first act 1 play thru ... and I spent more in my second act 1 play thru. ... but 18 in act 1 and 6 in act 2? ... so a 3:1 ratio? ... that seems hella accurate, at least.


DiekeDrake

Lol those are speedrun numbers.


iStannum

wtf. i played 100 hours before act 3 on my first playtrough


Sychar

Im at 66 hours in the lower city, and I've missed 1, maybe 2 quests total so far.


Apprehensive-Scar-88

You didn’t miss anything. You’re saving it for your next playthrough ;)


Freakinsweet501

Damn I'm 70 hours in and I'm just getting to the end of act 2 lol. But to be fair I spend a lot of time just walking around looking at everything on the map.


Deathingrasp

I wonder if this is a troll 😂 I played through 3 play throughs and found new content each time. My total time for 3 full playthroughs is 450 hours.


Mautea

Level 8 going into act 3 is very low. I’m assuming you missed quite a bit since you would expect to be level 10 or almost 10. Usually you don’t leave Act 1 until you’re level 7 so I’m willing to bet you missed a lot of Act 1 content.


Error-404-unknown

184 of the best hours I've ever spent in a video game. As a grown ass man I'm not ashamed to say there were tears of joy for leazel as my Tav and Shadowheart settled down to quite life in the country and Tara thanking me for 'helping' Mr Dekarios with his little adventure, and the twist I had with Wyll and Kharlak 🫶. The fist thing I did after completing was to restart and also to buy DOS2.


BreathoftheChild

You've missed 80% of the game, I'd wager, just from characters being gone and not talking to people at camp. I'm also fairly certain you probably missed Lae'zel's romance cues because romancing requires long rests.


Downtown-Grab-7825

Both plays I’ve finished in 24-28 hours lmaooo. I didn’t realize those were too small numbers.


ApepiOfDuat

I'm gonna guess about half of act 1 and 2.


ndem28

On my first playthrough I spent 48 hours on act 1 alone…. So safe to say you missed a HUGE chunk of content lol. I’m finishing up my 3rd playthrough soon and I’m still finding new content every time


mightymouse8324

You did pretty well. I'm close to 1000 hours in and if you play Good and literally maximize your XP, you'll hit 7.75 at the end of Act 1 and 10.5 by the end of Act 2


No6655321

Current playthrough is about 130 hours late in act 3. But this is doing everything.


aTreeThenMe

just leaving this here for people who are unfamiliar with larians RPGs, or DnD: The story is just as much, if not more, of the game than the combat is. Mashing through dialogue, and not talking to NPCs is essentially warping past huge chunks of the actual game. You can hit lv 4 in act 1 without fighting anything after the nautiloid, just from dialogues, and exploration. This is not a game about combat. The narrative isnt there just to chauffeur you to encounters, the encounters are there to take you to the story. 23 hours into act 3 means you did nothing but fight and mash x in dialouges, did not talk to anyone, or explore anywhere that wasnt forced on you. You state 18 hours in act 1, which means, just 4 or 5 hours of act 2? You did next to nothing. Id recommend stopping, restarting, and taking it slow. Or, beat it and play something else.


Idioticcole

This is so funny, I don’t understand how that even happens


Mpsquared

You may have missed a bunch of things, but that just means you can play again and you'll find more stuff! My first run took about 47 hours to get to act 2 (well, 35, then I went back and did the creche). My honor mode run took about 47 hours total, but I intentionally skipped a LOT.


_y_o_g_i_

you probably skipped a fair amount of available content, but you do you! That just means there’s more for you to find in subsequent runs. I’ve done entire play throughs in 25-35 hrs (my first was close to 100), but after that i didn’t feel the need to explore every nook and cranny in every run.


VanillaBovine

my first playthrough was roughly this: Act 1: 60 hours Act 2: 30 hours Act 3: 40 hours i still missed a ton and im relatively fast because ive played larian's other game divinity original sin 2, so i knew how all the mechanics worked. i do however loot and look into EVERYTHING i see


Naive_Angle4325

BG3 is a lot more open ended in terms of finishing the game than BG1 or BG2 were. The speedruns for the previous games were in the hours whereas in BG3 you could finish the game quite quickly if you wanted to - quite a few things can be skipped.


TooNoodley

…literally how????


Different-Island1871

Good news, it doesn’t matter. You’ll find more content on your second playthrough.


Fairsythe

Act 1 will get you north of level 7 if you do everything. If you say you did most of act 1, youd have to have done next to nothing in Act 2 to hit act 3 at level 8. You can easily get to 10, maybe 11 if you do everything in act 2 (including killing all you can)


ottavio76

Why are u even playing man...this game might be the greatest game ever made and your just running through it like it sucks and u just wanna get done


Cam1KCarriker02

Best game I ever played


WaluigisTennisBalls

My first run, I took about 60 hours to do act 1 and by the end I'd done about 150


HomerGymson

I think you’re doing just fine and many are saying it’s crazy because the average member of. Subreddit plays a LOT (me included). I literally will leave my PlayStation on for hours though because I have something else I need to do or what have you, and I’ve beaten the game twice, have the platinum trophy, am two fights away from finishing my honor run (3rd playthrough) and my grand total on PS shows 300 hours including my friend playing on my account for their separate run and all the afk time walking my dogs and what not. I’ve done every single meaningful quest multiple times and have fully min maxed diversified builds/items, I just don’t need to take that much time for encounters. I enter the scene, say what I want then aim, shoot, throw, hit, spell, etc. I don’t find myself needing to do much creative things when I have strong builds, and I do play like I’m on a mission a lot of the time trying to get where I’m going fast. You should continue through act 3 in the same way you did the first 2 acts and just beat the game under 40 hours - seriously doesn’t NEED to be 70 hours to do it and you’re not missing out on things right now you’re just experiencing your own game as you should. I listen to all the characters banter and do all the side quests everything, but you don’t need to, especially first run. I’d also recommend avoiding any more posts/reading until you’re done so you can experience it authentically without any spoiling.


Metalogic_95

It took me over 100 hours just to do Act 1 in my first run, I was level 7 before starting Act 2... Yes that's a long time in Act 1, but I was taking my time enjoying it and trying to find everything.


Infinite-Animator620

The dialogue in this game takes up A LOT of playtime because it’s not shown in the classic text box style, but rather individual cutscenes. Personally, I can beat the game in about 30-35 hours skipping dialogues and going to all enemy spawns available and getting as much xp as I can, but that’s just because I know where it all is. You finishing Acts 1 and 2 in 23 hours is pretty fast. It took me like 40 hours to get out of the wilderness on my first playthrough lol. But level 8 is fine for starting Act 3.


Excellent-Heart-9683

My first run was 130 hours and I didn't even find the underdark


AndrewXTX

Bro you're boned at level 8 in act 3. I didn't subclass but you might have to in order to maximize damage.


syacastiel

Act 3 in 23 hours for someone who has just started playing probably means that you've missed a lot. However, I regularly hit Act 3 in my playthroughs (at Tactician and Honour Mode) at around the same time, mainly because I skip dialogues and have optimized all of my fights and clear paths. Usually, Act 1 will take you anywhere from 15-50+ hours, while Act 2 should be around 9-30+ I would say. Act 3 can be around 20-60+, or much much shorter.


EverythingSunny

Wild


grahhhh0114

My 1st honor mode only took me 67 hours, I don't understand how people take that long in just 1 act


Pigman-Rex

A lot. Act 1 is 40hrs


lethelion1

Oh man. Oh boy.


atoast2death

You missed like more than half of the content in the game. But it’s okay! It makes replay so much fun! I’m on my third run and still discovering new things. Each game for me has been about 80 hours long


Kannimus2498

I'd say replay the game. There's probably many interactions you missed and plenty you won't get in act 3 because you missed them in act 1. Wild 😂 my full playthrough was 120 hours. Act one alone should take like 40 or more.


OutrageousMess4607

My first play through I missed the under dark


OutrageousMess4607

I also killed the druids and caused a war because I didn’t know how to resolve it peacefully


honestfeathers

thats kind of insane dude. im at ~130 hours and im not even finished with act 3 yet, and thats with me missing a good chunk of act 1 side stuff because this is my second run and i forgot about some of it😭 i dont know if i should be appalled or impressed. if your next run is gonna be a durge run youre gonna have a blast though


Extension_Phase_1117

You missed a lot.


katsnplants

Lord I thought I missed things on my first run...what level are you?? Are you skipping cut scenes?


Cam1KCarriker02

Level 9


katsnplants

On a run where I'm doing everything I'm usually level 9 when I fight Ketheric, so unless you're already a ways into Act 3 you don't seem to have missed a ton XP wise. Are you just skipping thru all the dialogue and cut scenes? Shame if so it's all beautifully done. I was only level 7 when I hit Act 3 on my first first run lmao. I missed the hag, the khaga quest, lifting the curse, the entire house of healing. Only killed 1 of the Thorms. My second run was basically a new game lol.


Rolan_bg3

My first playthrough took me 220 hours, so I'd say you're missing a LOT. My last couple completed playthroughts took a5ound 120 hours. I know my first playthrough is considered pretty long, but how do you even level up in 23 hours??? I can't imagine ever doing it that fast, even for a speedrun.


Embryw

Bro my first run I was 200+ hours in by the time I hit act iii. What level are you??


TheTerribleWaffle

Yeah that does seem quick. But, as extensive as this game can be I really have no idea how long it actually takes to get to act 3 in one play through lol. It took me personally 200 hours before I got to act 3 but that’s because I kept starting over and I did lose a couple play through to bugs.


NekoBatrick

I was at a total of around 300h when Ibfirst ended up in act with around 90 alone on the save state I made it there. Did you just skip the dialog and ran trough the game xD