Regill's good (odd because he's evil), as are the succubus and Ember, if you keep her response dialogue off. And Daeran is amusing in the same way a Slaanesh cultist is amusing.
The other ones I'm pretty meeeeh about.
Regill's solid probably because he brings that practical soldiering experience of being an LE, he's harsh but not stupid. Ember unless you pass a perception check when you meet her is under the protection of Andoletta, an empyreal lord. She took pity on her child-like innocence which is why she saved her from the pyre.
Daeran I find kinda campy. Sosiel has no personality, same with Valerie from Kingmaker, Seelah is ehhh, I stopped using her cause her callouts were louder than anyone else's. Cami I had to have in the party as she was speced in buffs I needed for battle, I would have benched or killed her if not. Woljif they didn't know what to do with, he's okay if joking. Greybor's professionalism is kinda bland but he's okay. Lann is okay, he gives good advice and his monk class was crucial for me in Alushinyrra. His abundant step meant he could Dimension door up to a place, I'd use a scroll with Arue to get up there as well then we all go back down. If I took the entire party, I wouldn't be able to get back down, the game has something about moving to places where there isn't an active party member. Finniean was okay as a weapon but at Act 5 he's still only +1 meaning you have to go to the bladesmith's house right next to Iz in order to make him +5. Wenduag got herself killed unfortunately but I didn't know what to do with her.
Nenio I like, even if she interrupts a few times in dialog it's out of scientific curiosity. Her quest though, that was a hours slog through a maze of about a dozen puzzles and light redirecting. And it's one of the major dungeons for Act 5.
The only hint here is "Must not be more than 3" and that was on an easily missed wall. Good luck. There's a knob one that's harder and I don't know how you'd figure that out apart from blind luck.
I also hate Irabeth (another diversity hire) and the gnome advisor, too. OH, and that goddamn dragon you get as an Azata; I had to reload my choice of Mythic Path because the first Azata quest alone was far too much.
Irabeth died defending Galfrey, so I'm not crying. And Aivu is good, I like my dragon friend who has 40/DR, permanent Heroism aura, 32 DC fear aura and a sonic breath attack that does 100+ damage and doesn't hurt allies, can also cast Greater Restoration 9 times a day and demons love to use level drains this late in the game. She's amazing.
There's a Fallout quest that was absolutely horrible. You'd find the mineshaft, get the reference but then underground you're forced and yes I mean actually forced to use the turn based mode of the game, you have to turn off leavers to stop endless respawns, the sigils will hold mass your party and the monsters have 55 AC with blur, mirror image and greater dispell. Aivu tries to use her breath weapon and the game says "Unavilaible for a reason:" but never gives the reason.
Aivu's fear aura caused one guy to run all the way back to the start of the caves, meaning I had to chase after him for another 10 minutes because he wouldn't sit still. This entire quest was designed by some from RPGCodex for pain.
I see you are a man of culture.
Good culture is using Arueshalae as a scout by giving her Invisibility from Woljif, not because she's useful and can disarm traps but because she whispers her callouts like "I'm glad I was useful to you" or "I will follow my dream." Did the same for Kanerah in Kingmaker and hearing "For you, anything" is good ASMR.
I finished yesterday and Act 5 really was rushed. Pulura's fall is an Act 3 dungeon on the Angel's path I think that they pushed back to 5. Baph's maze is a good dungeon but doesn't really tie into the overall feeling, it's kind of separate. Nenio's one here means you get to keep her as a companion and wouldn't be worth doing again, it's almost all puzzles with some combat. And then there's Iz, where you beat down Deskari but doesn't feel like a triumph, more just a thing to cross off the list. Threshold is short but most monsters there are 70+ AC, like Areelu or the Echo, for comparison, the Lantern King from Kingmaker had 44 AC.
Also tested out a bolt against Areshkagal and didn't get a stone from her, so go figure. There's no unique dialog for my character who worshiped Pharasma at the end, even though I got a blessing from her in Lost Chapel and all of Arue's struggles are
summed up in 2 paragraphs. Greybor
gets more description about what happens to him at the end than Arue does. Greybor both retired and took over an assassin's guild, so bad end triggers there.
It was clear that Act 5 is barely done in terms of plot and story. It's a half baked mess that Owlcat rushed out so they could beat Baldur's Gate 3. Thing is, this game needs at least another 6 months of bug fixing and Act 5 content before I'd consider it complete.
Also no decent shops Act 5, everyone is still selling +3 gear meaning you have to find your +5 stuff which is annoying.
It's still pretty good though, 140 hours my playtime. Even with the bugs, crusade management meant I had to rebuild my entire armies in Act 5, the long load times because the game remembers every area you've been to making cleaner a necessary mod and the rushed ending. It's getting to Drezen is a high point, the stuck on a rooftop in Alushinyrra because I cant Dimension Door down is a low.
Draven isn't in the game, the guy who teleported behind someone in Kingmaker, his hat is though.
