I wish they made more options like the Dark Urge, it's very similar to how Dragon Age Origins handled the origin system, why I love it so much is that it grounds the player in the world of the game, you can have an actual family, people that know you and actual history of living in the world where contrast that with Tav and they feel a little bit like an alien who suddenly dropped out of nowhere, there is no personal quest or ties to the main plot that Tav could have. Imagine if instead you could play as a noble who was snatched from his family home which would unlock special dialogue with Wyll who now knows you, because you are a fellow noble or maybe when you get to the city, you actually have a home there and a family who are now in trouble with Gortash and you have to save them etc.
BG3 is a young game, I can imagine adding such content would help sell DLC. Families could be race/region based with prompts from menu lists, but also life experience categories. Then companions might share such, dialogue could be adjusted, though we'd perhaps need some research grounding. Certainly origin story options would add depth with companions who understand or are puzzled through being nurtured in other circumstances.
Yes...and honestly; DA:O is one of the very few games, that does character creation better than BG3. You have a origin, like city elf (both genders, but especially female), human noble or dwarven noble, that immediately - and often brutally so - sucks you in to the gaming world, and gets you committed right away. And the set origins is nicely combined with your looks being customisable (within racial and gender limits for your chosen origin, though). BG3 is a nearly-perfect game. But something like that for more origins than dark urge would have been a nice finishing touch for the game. -Choosing one of the 6 origin characters is fine, but don't give the same degree of customisation possibilities from the start, and don't feel as "getting you invested in the game world" as the DA:O origins.
@@shyviking I played on Shadowheart and it felt more like a huge let down, because you didn't get that much new content out of it, aside from a few inner monologue scenes and on top of that you miss out on romance and dialogue + voice acting of that companion, so it's not really worth it to me personally and seems like you loose more than you get.
I've only played through Act 1 with an origin character thus far, and I think -at least for the first playthrough- going with custom or Dark Urge is way better. The reason is, that even though you are playing from their oerspective, and you get some extra cutscene, inner monologue and dialog options, on the whole I find, that I find I learn a lot less about an origin character if I play as them. You miss out on which actions they approve/dissaprove, their opinions on events that transpire, their voice acting... So I'd say, play as a custom/Durge the first time, and on repeat playthroughs, getting some more insight and new cutscenes through an origin-runncan be really cool
This comment was the most helpful one I’ve encountered. Reminded me the DOS2 experience where I played as Iben but couldn’t figure out his personality as much as other origin characters in my party.
One aspect about custom character I feel should be mentioned, is that they actually do get backgrounds. Backgrounds are a character creation option that you can add to custom characters, but the origin characters have their own. These are what opens up unique dialogue options, and there are some that you can't see if you only use origin players. Sometimes they have additional little boosts for the character as well.
That's not what they're talking about. If you prefer me to be utterly precise with the language, she's referring to backstory. You're referring to the game mechanic of backgrounds, which is different. Backgrounds hint at backstory but aren't backstory. Dialogue options =/= backstroy. Dialogue options =/= whole cutscenes and dialogue and decision chains. Choosing a background in custom character creation is not a replacement for the origins' backstories.
@PaulRGauthier she didn't talk about backgrounds at all though. I think it's important to mention since it's the primary gameplay feature about choosing a custom character. And backgrounds are important parts of the backstory, not entirely seperate like you're suggesting. But irregardless of semantics, if the videos gonna compare the two options, then it needs to address the gameplay changes. No hate to the creator just thought it important to mention
Backgrounds don't reallt do much, they sometimes add a flavor options which is nice for role-playing I guess, but often it's actually a duplicate of a class-specific or a line that other backgrounds also have. They don't make you an actual part of the world as origins do. Wish they would do something similar to what dragon age origins had, that would be amazing. Dark Urge was great, just whish there were other customizable origins like that to try.
@@jasonjacksonii1805 Fair point that she didn't mention backgrounds. However, in the interest of accuracy, I did say that backgrounds and backstory are connected. I said a background HINTS at a backstory, but it is not the same as a backstory and I stand by that 100%.
I think I would be more interested in the origin characters if they were voiced in dialogs more, I feel like we miss out on so much personality of a origin character when we play as them cause they never talk. It was cool playing as lea'zel in one play through. but it also was odd, since she wants to immediately find a creche, but i am like we can't yet Lae'zel, you aren't leveled up enough to go there yet.. lol so we have to do other things to gain experience first even though there is no reason lae'zel would actually do that...
In my experience playing as an Origin (Astarion) in a Solo run, there really isn’t much influence there. Without internal party interactions the origin interactions are quite seldom and are almost always unvoiced or without cutscene. It really just gives a more characteristic response to *some* conversations. The outcome is almost always the same. I highly recommend trying out an origin yourself, especially with a party. There have been many moments where my origin has his name dropped which adds to a sense of belonging and his personal questing and insights are awesome. It shows you a lot more about the character from their own perspective. Just remember it is their perspective so you loose out in a lot of scene and lore you would otherwise discover as Tav.
Astarion origin is a waste of time. I know less about the character thenwhen I had max approval and romanced him. You don't even have options to play or say whst Astarion woyld say or do. Bug disappointment
I'm the only one in my friend group that prefers playing origin characters. It was the same for DOS2. I like playing as established heroes instead of some random, made up person. The Geralt example was good, as I would rather play as him instead of some custom Witcher. I do see the appeal of custom characters of course, but I prefer origin. Great vid!
I'm the same way. I've been struggling the past couple months. Been creating tavs only to delete them. I'm 300 hours into bg3 without having past act 1,yeah... I have issues lol. Origin seems like it's for me even though it's not the majority
I get bored on custom real quick. Origin playthroughs like Shadowheart and Laezel are fun because they have actual personal attachments to the plot instead of just being some nobody just following the dream visitors directions.
I like playing with custom characters, but in BG3 I'm curious to do a playthrough as Karlach eventually to see how this will play out in the interaction with Wyll.
I recommend the Dark Urge. Larian has come out and said that Durge was meant to be the main character originally and playing as them unlocks a LOT of story that Tav doesn't have access to. Play as Karlach only if you're wanting to see her romance options. My husband and I complained a LOT during my Karlach run because she starts the same as Tav (custom), even though she really shouldn't, and there's very little difference worth noting in her overall story.
@@Ectava this, only complaint as Durge is that if you want to do an all good run you need to knock Alfira out, otherwise you will kill her, other than that if you want to play as a good char it is totally possible as the Durge, also possible to do a totally fucked up run as well
@@Ectava Thanks for the feedback. I guess that regardless of origin character they cannot change too much of the start of the story in the first act -- the whole start in the Nautiloid, the crashing of that, etc. But so far I've only started as a custom character (and I'm still early in Act 1 with all the different saves I started!) I will try out Dark Urge at some point but first, I feel I have to make it through more of the actual game instead of starting over again, and again, and again! 😂 With Karlach I'm interested in seeing how the introduction to Wyll plays out if you play as her.
She sucks to play. I'm not being mean. They short changed her. She's a wonderful character, but her story is very weak. EDIT: Apparently it changes in Act 2? I couldn't get past Act 1 with her....
Great video! I definitely agree with your insights. I spent probably hours researching how well integrated the Dark Urge was into the plot of the game (without spoiling myself) because my initial playthroughs of games with character creation are always with my main OC. BOY, am I glad I went with the Dark Urge. It is absolutely the perfect solution to the issue of narrative/world disconnect with the custom character. It's been so much like Baldur's Gate II, where your character is your own, but clearly invested in and present within the world.
i like playing as custom characters, i love the options, and i love creating my own narrative sort of speak. But i think i might later try one of the premades just for giggles or, maybe when i do multiplayer later with friends.
It’s really not, Durge is just an alternative path. There is no single canon. The entire game is based on choices and none of them are correct or incorrect. (Not to mention, you can find default Durge dead in Bhaal’s temple)
@@SpiritHunterDSG that only solidifies it lmao. People believe durge is the cannon MC because durge actually has the only connection to the baulders gate series as a whole making the game truly baulders gate 3
I know you said you felt you're late to the party, but thank you for posting this video. I'd been looking for a video like this when I started playing earlier this month.
And thank you for watching! I kinda wanted to add that to the title but hesitated because the things discussed in the video apply to DOS2 as well, but you're probably right haha. The majority is about BG3 anyway, so I'll add it to the title (':
Started playing as Karlach but stop 30 minutes in after realizing there's a mod that let's you customize Orgin characters just like custom characters. I made her look so badass
I don't condone or accept the idea of AI taking over the roll of voice acting. But one of the things I would love AI to do is voice act your custom character! You got a hundred voice actors together to just do samples and program the AI and then you pick a voice in the character creator and then any dialogue you select the AI voice acts! It would make custom characters so much more interesting!
I had the same complaints with a custom character, so I went with Dark Urge instead. Yes it’s not a full blank page, but it’s the closest you can get ! And the storyline is great.
I think the inclusion of the origin characters is a fun bonus feature, but I would definitely recommend a custom character for a first playthrough. The main problem with choosing an origin character (outside of dark urge) is that it has a net subtractive effect on the game. Having Wyll as a companion lets you see his story play out and hear his voice, as well as giving you whatever unique dialogue is associated with your custom character. Playing as Wyll doesn't change much about how the game's story plays out, and provides you with very few unique dialogue options. I think the main reason that playing as an origin character feels hollow is because the player already has a lot of control over their companions. When it comes to big decisions, companion Wyll is going to take the advice of my player character (although it may require a persuasion check or a high approval). I don't need to be playing as Wyll in order to decide whether or not Wyll is going to obey Mizora.
Dark urge is my favorite play through. Always something I love about making custom characters rather than playing origin. Making my own back story and not feeling too limited on how I need to play.
For me, the biggest problem with playing as an origin character is that I miss them in my party. I can no longer talk to them, have them interject with their thoughts during dialogues with others, and can no longer get a lot of their scenes. :/
After two run and the read about cut content I can concluded the "real main character" is Dark Urge. Contrary to what the communication says, you can clearly play a good character reacting to this terrible past. It's only this character who provides the link between the game's two main plots, and who even gives his raison d'être to a secondary character who follows us throughout the game! Honestly, I'm only playing with this character now, and I wish I'd been forewarned so I could discover him with the "real character" in my first game.
I have completed as a custom chars and so far only Astarion as Origin, I really enjoyed his playthrough, will definitely be trying another Origin playthrough
8:23 I absolutely fell in love with your gorgeous (Barbarian? Druid?) character here, and would give a lot to play her in my first Honor Mode run. 💙 I've been trying for a few hours to reconstruct her, discerning her head type, race and skin tone, but alas to no avail. I am so inspired that I just can't let go, so may I respectfulla ask which head/head mod, skin tone and race this is? It would mean a lot to me. 🙏🏼
Aw thanks! 💜 And of course, no worries! I am not using any mods so she's completely vanilla. She's a half elf (Drow) and I'm using Head 5, with skin colour Smoke Tone 1. In case you want to give your char the same eye colour as well, I believe I used Elf Gold 1! I multiclassed her into a Cleric/Paladin of Selûne 😄
Love your vid! I always play as Custom first if I can! After this playthrough I want to try all of the Origin characters for their personal stories! Great vid, keep up the good work! Liked & Subbed!
I love the Custom, but a few more Tav options would go a long way… 2nd playthrough Karlach asked where my Tav would be if she hadn’t been abducted and I told her with her family in Baldurs Gate. Karlach was glad she had a family. But my Tav felt guilty. I realized she was naive, very young, part of a large merchant family. She loves them, but never realized how good she truly had it. And learning about the other characters stories is opening her eyes and breaking her heart…. My first playthrough Tav felt totally different.
Interesting discusion - and I must say that Larian's way of bridging the two types; with the cunstomisable dark urge, is really well thought-out. My favorite choice in the game....
I also love playing as custom character because it feels more immersive. I love playing as my own original characters that I can customise the appearance, race, class etc of. But I have been considering playing through Astarion’s origin story for a fresh experience.
I think Durge should've been the default character, it's the best of both worlds - you get unique ties to the main story and get to experience all of the stories of other origins as companions. I strongly recommend to everyone to start your first playthrough as Durge.
@@cabbage_cat agree!. I'm nearing the end of Act 3 and have resisted the urge most of the time. Have been able to maintain my romance with Lae'zel throughout the game. Next playthrough I'm definitely going full Sith Lord 👹
ive finished my first play as a costum bard just forging his own story and in the end my build and choises made if feel like i was a apprentice of jahera a harper in the making as bard ranger had a blast :D
I love the mod where you can alter the looks of the origin characters through a mirror in your playthrough. Although you cant choose a different race ect
I enjoy this topic, too. Really liked this video. Custom all the way for me, too. Dark Urge is my next playthrough, haven't finished with any of my six custom characters yet!
We tend to think of Durge as.....Custom with extra back story. My favourite is my Barbarian/monk (Strength based, open hand tavern brawler, wine enthusiast) Durge I have going. She is the BIGGEST idiot/murder muffin I have ever seen. If a save is involved to not kill something, it's gonna die. It took eleven tries to save Astarion from her xD
I now have 4 custom characters all somewhere near the start of Act 1 because I just wanted to see what different outcomes would do, how different classes would play, etc etc... I really should pick one and make more progress with one of the characters I guess but so far I want to still see what difference some choices might make so still progressing 2 of the 4 kind-of alongside each other!
@@Ectava As Durge, which have you found more fun? I'm not sure if I should purposefully lean into it and kill everything (I usually hate playing this way, never even finished a renegade run in Mass Effect), or is it more fun if you try to resist the urge?
@@TimvanderLeeuw It sounds like you play like I play! I have 500 hours in, and haven't finished the game once! I keep thinking of things I could have done better or a way to optimize a new Tav, and I keep starting new characters! I'm sort of just forcing myself to finish now with my original sorcerer just so I can watch some of the vids I want to without fear of spoilers.
You've now tempted me to give Dark Urge a go, I just don't like what happens to at least one NPC as Dark Urge is all. One thing I like about the idea of Dark Urge, though, is it offers a 'good' play through option and an 'evil' play through option, offering a player a chance to give the same char type a go but from different angles. I haven't had a full play through, but I know enough about the Dark Urge (and Baldur's Gate history, having played 1 and 2 on release) to make it just that much more compelling.
I'd definitely recommend it! And I think I know what NPC you're talking about, and it is possible to avoid that. You'll just have to jump through a few hoops but it's definitely possible. I'll not give away any spoilers here but there's plenty of info on how to do that online, I did it myself as I'm doing a good Dark Urge run 😄
I am in the minority that I really do not like custom characters in video games all that much. It's certainly fun to play around in character creation but in the game itself, I think, it's a bit bland to have a character with no actual backstory outside of your head. The Durge seems to be a pretty good compromise/solution in this regard (I am only in Act I with my Durge) but I still prefer the Origins. Though apart from this general sentiment, my love of the Origins in BG3 varies. I adore Astarion as a companion but found that his Origin version does not add too much to the experience apart from very easy to miss cut scenes / dialogue options. Gale's Origin otoh is probably my favourite way to play the game at this point because you are frequently encouraged to consider his perspective or maybe think more closely about some matters, it gives you some additional background about Gale through Tara and offers (at least for me) a much better resolution to his whole orb situation and personal dilemma.
Playing Durge, I felt so much more connection to the story. I felt like my character was part of it and to some of the late game characters and what was happening. After doing my durge run, I honestly can't play Tavs anymore. I wish they would have had more "backgrounds" instead of spending the time making the companions playable. I understand that Tav is meant to be a "blank slate" so you can give them whatever backstory you want in your head, but even if picking your background affected certain characters recognizing you from a long time ago and acknowledging you would do a lot for immersion.
Played my first playthrough as tav because it’s made the most sense to learn the world. Then I didn’t a dark urge second run where I’m evil as fuck and now I’m doing a shadow heart run which is probably the only origin character I can do because she’s the only one I can really identify with in terms of personality
You make a good point, there could be some questions allowing the game to integrate some character generation choices. Stellaris empires have some limited tailoring, but for MP or sharing legend details adds flavour. Still if a companion asks you background questions fibbing or finessing answers should also be an option. I cannot fault BG3 though, such a mechanic needs insight and isn't probably deliverable until long after launch as it'll be a nice touch rather than an essential.
Great points! Dragon Age and Mass Effect both do this well of giving the custom character some in-game backstory of your choice that impacts how the world sometimes interacts with you. Doesn’t change the story but it adds flavor so you feel like you are of the world you exist in. The custom origin needs like some sub-origins. Or the backgrounds maybe need to have more of an impact for custom characters than they do.
Exactly! That's why I think Larian made a really good decision adding the Dark Urge, it adds that extra flavour people are looking for while still giving you a lot of freedom
@@LisaLynnsTavern Agreed! The Dark Urge was such a fun playthrough that could go in different directions and feel narratively appropriate to how you choose to play.
Tell me, did you LEARN anything different than when you had them as companions? I literally didnt learn anythibg about Astarion from origin that wasn't with Dark Urge. And a lot less about his past.
Yes, actually. But that's not even the point. The point is experiencing a deeper and richer story line for the origins. If that's not your thing, fine. I think the Dark Urge is boring asf. Everyone's mileage varies. @@dominika3762
@@dominika3762 Gale’s got Tara in the camp for most of the game and she’ll do a little bit of lore dropping, the Act 2 chat with Eliminster is pretty different and there’s a possibility of him sending you a letter saying that there’s a way you can defeat the Absolute without being the Nuke (or so I’ve read, but I breezed through Act 2 on tactician bc I’m a fast gamer and it was my third playthrough) and I’ve heard there are very interesting ending outcomes that you wouldn’t get to see as Tav, specifically for Gale related to Mystra and his hunger for power. I’ve been really enjoying playing as Gale. I don’t feel like I’d enjoy playing as Astarion as much, and I’d REALLY miss his sass, especially since I’ve had him in my party for the entirety of this particular playthrough I’m going for power hungry Gale, going against the wishes of Mystra. But I’ve heard rumors there are cheeky things that’ll make her accept you in the end so I might pull some silly shenanigans and become a Gale squid As far as my takes on other origins go, without having played them lol- since Karlach overall is underdeveloped due to being a late addition, the only thing I’m curious about is what the endings look like from her POV. Laezel and Shart both probably would be fantastic origin playthroughs since they are so intertwined with the entire game. Wyll seems like he could just be a stand-in for a lawful good Tav anyway, he’d probably be a fun first playthrough tbh. Doesn’t have a strong personal quest, just like Tav lol. But I’ve seen his story and don’t anticipate anything new from him. I’m not sure what an Astarion origin campaign could add to his character either, since the bulk of his story happens in act 3. So I assume Raphael probably plays a bigger part in story exposition, if the narrator doesn’t just outright do the “you think about the scars on your back. What do they mean??” thing. Anyway nobody fucking asked me to write all this but I haven’t slept and it’s noon so why not
Thanks for taking the time to write that. I appreciate it! Zero irony or mockery, that was awesome. For the record, I've just started a Wyll playthrough. You're right, I haven't learned much that's brand new information. But I've been given lots of new and unique interactions and cutscenes which make his character and story deeper and more compelling. Which is the whole point of the origin arcs imnsho. @@kevwox
I know it would be way out there.. but I think they could have left the origin characters as a “blank slate” race and background could be locked in, so that the voice actors/actresses would align while still allowing gender fluidity and the appearance which is marginally only an impact on the player could still be customized. That way you can take in more of the story aspects but still feel like each character is custom to you. Except Astarion, he’s perfect as is.
I don't like the custom characters, they feel so unconnected to the plot. But I do love the Dark Urge, which is my favourite origin character, because it combines the best of both worlds: You are part of the world, but can also customize your character. Really think they should have given us a few more origins like that. I could easily see a Noble origin character, or maybe a Harper, one of Jaheira's children.
My experience is different. I'm still playing first run with my roommate and we regretted making custom characters. we're missing out a lot of OC interactions and development. But that is also bc there's two of us so we just have 2 OC in the party, we're kinda ditching/killing the others accidentally :) I was thinking about Wyll or DUrge for my next solo play, any advises?
Durge is a great choice. Without giving away any spoilers, it gives you more context to the main story and has a bunch of extra Durge exclusive dialogue and cutscenes. I really enjoyed playing as Durge 😄
Well...with at least Astarion (the only origin character I played) I don't think there was any difference. I just got two unique cutscene in the beginning of the first act. The rest didn't change much.
I've done custom and dark urge playthrough and wondering if there's anything interesting playing as origin character? Cause we already experience their storylines and I enjoy most of their stories but dunno if it's worth it to play as them. Plus if you play as origin, you won't hear the voiceover (correct me if I'm wrong), I'll be missing their top notch voice acting :(
I played customs several times but over time I've been playing with Shadowheart. Perhaps would later try out Lae'zel to see if she has something unique in her interaction.
I always play a custom character in all games because i never feel immersed in the game"s world. Eeventhough i'm playing i always feel like a spectator of the story but it's a story i can slightlty modify like what class my character is or dialogue choices. i'm usually in a situation where i dislike all the dialogue options or story choices but i have to pick one (obviously), so i still feel restrained by what the devs allowed me to do.
I think Dragon Age: Origins did a great job with giving the player, at least a little bit of choice, when it came to the origin of the player character. Such as, you could play an elf, who grew up in a forest, or an elf who grew up in slavery. Both stories would be referred to at some point in the game. In BG3, this could be done as a series of choices. But if none of those options were to the players' liking, they could simply pick an option saying "Unknown" or "Unremarkable", and then that point would simply not be referred to in the story. Either way, great video and interesting topic.
As someone who played Gale in my first solo run, followed by a Durge run, the main problem I have with Origin Characters is that there is *ZERO* customization. Even in DOS2, we could at least change the character's appearance to feel more comfortable as them. Maybe I want to imagine Fane had his skeleton char-black as a result of him being entombed in a Volcano? Sure. Maybe he socketed gems in his eyes because he thought they'd enhance his vision somehow? Go right ahead. Maybe change Ifan's hair? He doesn't care, go wild. Do you want to change Astarion or Shadowheart's Half High-Elf Cantrip Racial? Nope. You want to shave Gale on Tressyn's insistence? *Not happening.* These characters will not change in any way. shape or form and I find that very irritating. Durge feels so much better because I can interact with the world in a way that a Custom character will not because Durge has a history in the setting. I'd LOVE to play as Astarion in the future... but I also want to be able to customize my character and *you can't do that with any Origin besides Durge.*
By playing as Astarion I know more about him? Are you crazy? Playing as him U never learnt about SPOILERS that he was entombed for a year How he feels about using his body for sex How much much afraid he is about wveything How much he craves power and why I think you haven't played this particulr origin and judging what other people say, other origins
I like most of the companions, and it would be interesting to see what it different playing as them vs playing with them, but it I am playing as them, controlling what choices they make and what they say, are they really the same character? What would be interesting is if the dialog options that they would normally approve of are not present, since they would not choose that anyway. Then again as a custom I sometimes choose options I do not approve of because I an trying to be nice to a companion. ahhh too many options
I haven't played BG 3 yet, but with an Origin character, to me, it feels like I would be staying too long with them considering that BG 3 is supposed to be very long. Orgin characters seem to be like Hawke from afar, and I like Hawke a lot because of the voice and personality. If most of the dialogue is unvoiced for Orgin characters then the benefit of giving up the freedom to make a character seems to not be worth losing, as they wouldn't express a personality.
I've only done custom and have to admit I keep rerolling new ones (restartisis is a real condition! lol) I've dabbled with Dark Urge but you need to be in the right mood to play that one.... i always struggle being evil in games despite my best (or in this case worst) intentions XD
It's totally possible to do a good playthrough as the Dark Urge! :) I'm doing one atm, I also struggle with evil playthroughs. Thankfully most of the evil options can be easily avoided!
If you are Min-maxing, Astarion is the most powerful character in the game because of his unique abilities. if you don't care about that, you play what you like. Speed runners use Gale because he has the fastest way to the end of the game... or one of the endings. The Dark Urge is said to be the main character of the game, so He/she is the Protagonist of the game... if you can call it that, saying anymore is spoiler territory. there is one thing set in stone for costum characters. they are all from Baldur's gate (Balduvian)
Actually not true, if you are underdark race like drow or duergar the baldurian tag becomes underdark which will be your home. When tav anyway, durge is probably a different matter
I played as Astarion origin and ut was underwhelming. You can't play as Astarion, really. The choices are mostly Tav choices with a sprinkle of Astarion choices, but very few. And you lose all the acting of the origin. And there is virtually no acknowledgement of Astarion's romance problems, fears, traumas. There were TWO soecial Astarion cutscenes. And the only thing is just hiding you're a vampire in act 1 but you'll be outed.
one thing i've noticed when people play as origin characters are that they often act terribly OOC, which is why you should atleast play though the game one time before playing an origin aswell as romance them
Origin characters have the same issue as they did in DA, they basically have all the same story beats as the custom but, additional content related to there origin story to. You will experience this story with a Custom Tav but as the origin character you get additional scenes, dialogue and choices you wouldn't get otherwise. I love Larian but... why didn't they just make these characters into " backgrounds " you chose rather then fleshed out characters. Still love the game to death ... but this has and will always bother me.
I've heard a lot of people say that, and the more I play Dark Urge the more I start to agree. I still think it's good that they kept it as a separate option, though!
thats the bum-my thing about making a custom character in this game. it feels out of place. like a bystander, an invisible friend, a watcher... they arent really part of the story or the world. they are just there.
Durge was a bit disappointing to me. Few flavour options here and there but no real game changer nor consequences for your actions past or present. Overall, Origin characters add a more intimate PoV, where as companions they would be more reserved. Some things might happen without the player choice Tav would propose. But overall: the same.
I wish they made more options like the Dark Urge, it's very similar to how Dragon Age Origins handled the origin system, why I love it so much is that it grounds the player in the world of the game, you can have an actual family, people that know you and actual history of living in the world where contrast that with Tav and they feel a little bit like an alien who suddenly dropped out of nowhere, there is no personal quest or ties to the main plot that Tav could have. Imagine if instead you could play as a noble who was snatched from his family home which would unlock special dialogue with Wyll who now knows you, because you are a fellow noble or maybe when you get to the city, you actually have a home there and a family who are now in trouble with Gortash and you have to save them etc.
BG3 is a young game, I can imagine adding such content would help sell DLC. Families could be race/region based with prompts from menu lists, but also life experience categories.
Then companions might share such, dialogue could be adjusted, though we'd perhaps need some research grounding.
Certainly origin story options would add depth with companions who understand or are puzzled through being nurtured in other circumstances.
Many games add backgrounds like mount and blade warband.
Yes...and honestly; DA:O is one of the very few games, that does character creation better than BG3.
You have a origin, like city elf (both genders, but especially female), human noble or dwarven noble, that immediately - and often brutally so - sucks you in to the gaming world, and gets you committed right away. And the set origins is nicely combined with your looks being customisable (within racial and gender limits for your chosen origin, though).
BG3 is a nearly-perfect game. But something like that for more origins than dark urge would have been a nice finishing touch for the game.
-Choosing one of the 6 origin characters is fine, but don't give the same degree of customisation possibilities from the start, and don't feel as "getting you invested in the game world" as the DA:O origins.
@@shyviking I played on Shadowheart and it felt more like a huge let down, because you didn't get that much new content out of it, aside from a few inner monologue scenes and on top of that you miss out on romance and dialogue + voice acting of that companion, so it's not really worth it to me personally and seems like you loose more than you get.
I've only played through Act 1 with an origin character thus far, and I think -at least for the first playthrough- going with custom or Dark Urge is way better. The reason is, that even though you are playing from their oerspective, and you get some extra cutscene, inner monologue and dialog options, on the whole I find, that I find I learn a lot less about an origin character if I play as them. You miss out on which actions they approve/dissaprove, their opinions on events that transpire, their voice acting...
So I'd say, play as a custom/Durge the first time, and on repeat playthroughs, getting some more insight and new cutscenes through an origin-runncan be really cool
Yeah good point, I agree!
This comment was the most helpful one I’ve encountered. Reminded me the DOS2 experience where I played as Iben but couldn’t figure out his personality as much as other origin characters in my party.
One aspect about custom character I feel should be mentioned, is that they actually do get backgrounds. Backgrounds are a character creation option that you can add to custom characters, but the origin characters have their own. These are what opens up unique dialogue options, and there are some that you can't see if you only use origin players. Sometimes they have additional little boosts for the character as well.
That's not what they're talking about. If you prefer me to be utterly precise with the language, she's referring to backstory. You're referring to the game mechanic of backgrounds, which is different. Backgrounds hint at backstory but aren't backstory.
Dialogue options =/= backstroy.
Dialogue options =/= whole cutscenes and dialogue and decision chains.
Choosing a background in custom character creation is not a replacement for the origins' backstories.
@PaulRGauthier she didn't talk about backgrounds at all though. I think it's important to mention since it's the primary gameplay feature about choosing a custom character. And backgrounds are important parts of the backstory, not entirely seperate like you're suggesting. But irregardless of semantics, if the videos gonna compare the two options, then it needs to address the gameplay changes. No hate to the creator just thought it important to mention
Backgrounds don't reallt do much, they sometimes add a flavor options which is nice for role-playing I guess, but often it's actually a duplicate of a class-specific or a line that other backgrounds also have. They don't make you an actual part of the world as origins do. Wish they would do something similar to what dragon age origins had, that would be amazing. Dark Urge was great, just whish there were other customizable origins like that to try.
@@jasonjacksonii1805 Fair point that she didn't mention backgrounds.
However, in the interest of accuracy, I did say that backgrounds and backstory are connected. I said a background HINTS at a backstory, but it is not the same as a backstory and I stand by that 100%.
@@jasonjacksonii1805just throwing this in, but "irregardless" is not correct, it's "regardless".
I think I would be more interested in the origin characters if they were voiced in dialogs more, I feel like we miss out on so much personality of a origin character when we play as them cause they never talk. It was cool playing as lea'zel in one play through. but it also was odd, since she wants to immediately find a creche, but i am like we can't yet Lae'zel, you aren't leveled up enough to go there yet.. lol so we have to do other things to gain experience first even though there is no reason lae'zel would actually do that...
Yes! I’d really like to try Astarion or Karlach but I want their voices :(
the writing is so good that it's easy to react in real life, and find your response written there as an option.
In my experience playing as an Origin (Astarion) in a Solo run, there really isn’t much influence there. Without internal party interactions the origin interactions are quite seldom and are almost always unvoiced or without cutscene. It really just gives a more characteristic response to *some* conversations. The outcome is almost always the same. I highly recommend trying out an origin yourself, especially with a party. There have been many moments where my origin has his name dropped which adds to a sense of belonging and his personal questing and insights are awesome. It shows you a lot more about the character from their own perspective. Just remember it is their perspective so you loose out in a lot of scene and lore you would otherwise discover as Tav.
Astarion origin is a waste of time. I know less about the character thenwhen I had max approval and romanced him. You don't even have options to play or say whst Astarion woyld say or do. Bug disappointment
@@dominika3762 Agree. They really flubbed his origin play. He makes an amusing companion though.
I'm the only one in my friend group that prefers playing origin characters. It was the same for DOS2. I like playing as established heroes instead of some random, made up person. The Geralt example was good, as I would rather play as him instead of some custom Witcher.
I do see the appeal of custom characters of course, but I prefer origin. Great vid!
I'm the same way. I've been struggling the past couple months. Been creating tavs only to delete them. I'm 300 hours into bg3 without having past act 1,yeah... I have issues lol. Origin seems like it's for me even though it's not the majority
I get bored on custom real quick. Origin playthroughs like Shadowheart and Laezel are fun because they have actual personal attachments to the plot instead of just being some nobody just following the dream visitors directions.
I like playing with custom characters, but in BG3 I'm curious to do a playthrough as Karlach eventually to see how this will play out in the interaction with Wyll.
As spoiler free as possible, it's not too much different, at least up Act 2 so far.
I recommend the Dark Urge. Larian has come out and said that Durge was meant to be the main character originally and playing as them unlocks a LOT of story that Tav doesn't have access to.
Play as Karlach only if you're wanting to see her romance options. My husband and I complained a LOT during my Karlach run because she starts the same as Tav (custom), even though she really shouldn't, and there's very little difference worth noting in her overall story.
@@Ectava this, only complaint as Durge is that if you want to do an all good run you need to knock Alfira out, otherwise you will kill her, other than that if you want to play as a good char it is totally possible as the Durge, also possible to do a totally fucked up run as well
@@Ectava Thanks for the feedback.
I guess that regardless of origin character they cannot change too much of the start of the story in the first act -- the whole start in the Nautiloid, the crashing of that, etc. But so far I've only started as a custom character (and I'm still early in Act 1 with all the different saves I started!)
I will try out Dark Urge at some point but first, I feel I have to make it through more of the actual game instead of starting over again, and again, and again! 😂
With Karlach I'm interested in seeing how the introduction to Wyll plays out if you play as her.
She sucks to play. I'm not being mean. They short changed her. She's a wonderful character, but her story is very weak.
EDIT: Apparently it changes in Act 2? I couldn't get past Act 1 with her....
Great video! I definitely agree with your insights. I spent probably hours researching how well integrated the Dark Urge was into the plot of the game (without spoiling myself) because my initial playthroughs of games with character creation are always with my main OC. BOY, am I glad I went with the Dark Urge. It is absolutely the perfect solution to the issue of narrative/world disconnect with the custom character. It's been so much like Baldur's Gate II, where your character is your own, but clearly invested in and present within the world.
i like playing as custom characters, i love the options, and i love creating my own narrative sort of speak. But i think i might later try one of the premades just for giggles or, maybe when i do multiplayer later with friends.
Its funny you say you may make dark urge your canon because (no spoilers) I believe the dark urge is the canon main character.
It’s really not, Durge is just an alternative path. There is no single canon. The entire game is based on choices and none of them are correct or incorrect. (Not to mention, you can find default Durge dead in Bhaal’s temple)
@@SpiritHunterDSG that only solidifies it lmao. People believe durge is the cannon MC because durge actually has the only connection to the baulders gate series as a whole making the game truly baulders gate 3
@@SpiritHunterDSG I read in a interview The Dark Urge is cannon as well.
I know you said you felt you're late to the party, but thank you for posting this video. I'd been looking for a video like this when I started playing earlier this month.
Glad to hear that!
You should probably put "Baldur's Gate 3" in the title
thanks for another great vid!!
And thank you for watching!
I kinda wanted to add that to the title but hesitated because the things discussed in the video apply to DOS2 as well, but you're probably right haha. The majority is about BG3 anyway, so I'll add it to the title (':
Started playing as Karlach but stop 30 minutes in after realizing there's a mod that let's you customize Orgin characters just like custom characters. I made her look so badass
I don't condone or accept the idea of AI taking over the roll of voice acting. But one of the things I would love AI to do is voice act your custom character! You got a hundred voice actors together to just do samples and program the AI and then you pick a voice in the character creator and then any dialogue you select the AI voice acts! It would make custom characters so much more interesting!
I had the same complaints with a custom character, so I went with Dark Urge instead. Yes it’s not a full blank page, but it’s the closest you can get ! And the storyline is great.
I think the inclusion of the origin characters is a fun bonus feature, but I would definitely recommend a custom character for a first playthrough.
The main problem with choosing an origin character (outside of dark urge) is that it has a net subtractive effect on the game. Having Wyll as a companion lets you see his story play out and hear his voice, as well as giving you whatever unique dialogue is associated with your custom character. Playing as Wyll doesn't change much about how the game's story plays out, and provides you with very few unique dialogue options.
I think the main reason that playing as an origin character feels hollow is because the player already has a lot of control over their companions. When it comes to big decisions, companion Wyll is going to take the advice of my player character (although it may require a persuasion check or a high approval). I don't need to be playing as Wyll in order to decide whether or not Wyll is going to obey Mizora.
Thank you for sharing. Very helpful!
I just started playing today but am completely lost.
Dark urge is my favorite play through. Always something I love about making custom characters rather than playing origin. Making my own back story and not feeling too limited on how I need to play.
Yeah the more I play of my Dark Urge playthrough, the more I love it. Definitely making it my canon!
For me, the biggest problem with playing as an origin character is that I miss them in my party. I can no longer talk to them, have them interject with their thoughts during dialogues with others, and can no longer get a lot of their scenes. :/
After two run and the read about cut content I can concluded the "real main character" is Dark Urge.
Contrary to what the communication says, you can clearly play a good character reacting to this terrible past. It's only this character who provides the link between the game's two main plots, and who even gives his raison d'être to a secondary character who follows us throughout the game!
Honestly, I'm only playing with this character now, and I wish I'd been forewarned so I could discover him with the "real character" in my first game.
I have completed as a custom chars and so far only Astarion as Origin, I really enjoyed his playthrough, will definitely be trying another Origin playthrough
Just looked five videos and this is the first to solve my doubt, nice job btw putting your perspective even from other games.
Glad to hear that, thank you!
8:23 I absolutely fell in love with your gorgeous (Barbarian? Druid?) character here, and would give a lot to play her in my first Honor Mode run. 💙
I've been trying for a few hours to reconstruct her, discerning her head type, race and skin tone, but alas to no avail. I am so inspired that I just can't let go, so may I respectfulla ask which head/head mod, skin tone and race this is?
It would mean a lot to me. 🙏🏼
Aw thanks! 💜 And of course, no worries! I am not using any mods so she's completely vanilla. She's a half elf (Drow) and I'm using Head 5, with skin colour Smoke Tone 1. In case you want to give your char the same eye colour as well, I believe I used Elf Gold 1! I multiclassed her into a Cleric/Paladin of Selûne 😄
@@LisaLynnsTavern Thank you so much!
Love your vid! I always play as Custom first if I can! After this playthrough I want to try all of the Origin characters for their personal stories! Great vid, keep up the good work! Liked & Subbed!
I love the Custom, but a few more Tav options would go a long way… 2nd playthrough Karlach asked where my Tav would be if she hadn’t been abducted and I told her with her family in Baldurs Gate. Karlach was glad she had a family. But my Tav felt guilty. I realized she was naive, very young, part of a large merchant family. She loves them, but never realized how good she truly had it. And learning about the other characters stories is opening her eyes and breaking her heart…. My first playthrough Tav felt totally different.
Interesting discusion - and I must say that Larian's way of bridging the two types; with the cunstomisable dark urge, is really well thought-out. My favorite choice in the game....
Yeah I'm really glad they chose to do it this way
I also love playing as custom character because it feels more immersive. I love playing as my own original characters that I can customise the appearance, race, class etc of. But I have been considering playing through Astarion’s origin story for a fresh experience.
I think Durge should've been the default character, it's the best of both worlds - you get unique ties to the main story and get to experience all of the stories of other origins as companions. I strongly recommend to everyone to start your first playthrough as Durge.
Even the dark urge has insane replayability: to listen to the urge or to deny it
@@cabbage_cat agree!. I'm nearing the end of Act 3 and have resisted the urge most of the time. Have been able to maintain my romance with Lae'zel throughout the game. Next playthrough I'm definitely going full Sith Lord 👹
ive finished my first play as a costum bard just forging his own story and in the end my build and choises made if feel like i was a apprentice of jahera a harper in the making as bard ranger had a blast :D
I love the mod where you can alter the looks of the origin characters through a mirror in your playthrough. Although you cant choose a different race ect
Dark Urge all the way, popper needs hands
He deserves all the hands
I enjoy this topic, too. Really liked this video. Custom all the way for me, too. Dark Urge is my next playthrough, haven't finished with any of my six custom characters yet!
We tend to think of Durge as.....Custom with extra back story. My favourite is my Barbarian/monk (Strength based, open hand tavern brawler, wine enthusiast) Durge I have going. She is the BIGGEST idiot/murder muffin I have ever seen. If a save is involved to not kill something, it's gonna die. It took eleven tries to save Astarion from her xD
I now have 4 custom characters all somewhere near the start of Act 1 because I just wanted to see what different outcomes would do, how different classes would play, etc etc... I really should pick one and make more progress with one of the characters I guess but so far I want to still see what difference some choices might make so still progressing 2 of the 4 kind-of alongside each other!
@@Ectava As Durge, which have you found more fun? I'm not sure if I should purposefully lean into it and kill everything (I usually hate playing this way, never even finished a renegade run in Mass Effect), or is it more fun if you try to resist the urge?
@@TimvanderLeeuw It sounds like you play like I play! I have 500 hours in, and haven't finished the game once! I keep thinking of things I could have done better or a way to optimize a new Tav, and I keep starting new characters! I'm sort of just forcing myself to finish now with my original sorcerer just so I can watch some of the vids I want to without fear of spoilers.
@@EuphoriaDeep Yeah I'm definitely wary of spoilers here on UA-cam and stopped watching several videos of series because of that!!
played 2 dark urge playthroughs and on the 3rd found a really great scene/storyline that was really great!
You've now tempted me to give Dark Urge a go, I just don't like what happens to at least one NPC as Dark Urge is all. One thing I like about the idea of Dark Urge, though, is it offers a 'good' play through option and an 'evil' play through option, offering a player a chance to give the same char type a go but from different angles. I haven't had a full play through, but I know enough about the Dark Urge (and Baldur's Gate history, having played 1 and 2 on release) to make it just that much more compelling.
I'd definitely recommend it! And I think I know what NPC you're talking about, and it is possible to avoid that. You'll just have to jump through a few hoops but it's definitely possible. I'll not give away any spoilers here but there's plenty of info on how to do that online, I did it myself as I'm doing a good Dark Urge run 😄
I am in the minority that I really do not like custom characters in video games all that much. It's certainly fun to play around in character creation but in the game itself, I think, it's a bit bland to have a character with no actual backstory outside of your head. The Durge seems to be a pretty good compromise/solution in this regard (I am only in Act I with my Durge) but I still prefer the Origins.
Though apart from this general sentiment, my love of the Origins in BG3 varies. I adore Astarion as a companion but found that his Origin version does not add too much to the experience apart from very easy to miss cut scenes / dialogue options. Gale's Origin otoh is probably my favourite way to play the game at this point because you are frequently encouraged to consider his perspective or maybe think more closely about some matters, it gives you some additional background about Gale through Tara and offers (at least for me) a much better resolution to his whole orb situation and personal dilemma.
Playing Durge, I felt so much more connection to the story. I felt like my character was part of it and to some of the late game characters and what was happening. After doing my durge run, I honestly can't play Tavs anymore. I wish they would have had more "backgrounds" instead of spending the time making the companions playable. I understand that Tav is meant to be a "blank slate" so you can give them whatever backstory you want in your head, but even if picking your background affected certain characters recognizing you from a long time ago and acknowledging you would do a lot for immersion.
Played my first playthrough as tav because it’s made the most sense to learn the world. Then I didn’t a dark urge second run where I’m evil as fuck and now I’m doing a shadow heart run which is probably the only origin character I can do because she’s the only one I can really identify with in terms of personality
Honestly origins are great for coop playthroughs while custom is great for singleplayer
You make a good point, there could be some questions allowing the game to integrate some character generation choices. Stellaris empires have some limited tailoring, but for MP or sharing legend details adds flavour.
Still if a companion asks you background questions fibbing or finessing answers should also be an option.
I cannot fault BG3 though, such a mechanic needs insight and isn't probably deliverable until long after launch as it'll be a nice touch rather than an essential.
Great points! Dragon Age and Mass Effect both do this well of giving the custom character some in-game backstory of your choice that impacts how the world sometimes interacts with you. Doesn’t change the story but it adds flavor so you feel like you are of the world you exist in. The custom origin needs like some sub-origins. Or the backgrounds maybe need to have more of an impact for custom characters than they do.
Exactly! That's why I think Larian made a really good decision adding the Dark Urge, it adds that extra flavour people are looking for while still giving you a lot of freedom
@@LisaLynnsTavern Agreed! The Dark Urge was such a fun playthrough that could go in different directions and feel narratively appropriate to how you choose to play.
I like to do the first run as a custom character. Following runs are origin characters that I like.
The origin characters are awesome. I love being able to customise, but the origin characters' stories are excellent and worth playing.
Tell me, did you LEARN anything different than when you had them as companions? I literally didnt learn anythibg about Astarion from origin that wasn't with Dark Urge. And a lot less about his past.
Yes, actually. But that's not even the point. The point is experiencing a deeper and richer story line for the origins.
If that's not your thing, fine. I think the Dark Urge is boring asf. Everyone's mileage varies.
@@dominika3762
@@dominika3762 Gale’s got Tara in the camp for most of the game and she’ll do a little bit of lore dropping, the Act 2 chat with Eliminster is pretty different and there’s a possibility of him sending you a letter saying that there’s a way you can defeat the Absolute without being the Nuke (or so I’ve read, but I breezed through Act 2 on tactician bc I’m a fast gamer and it was my third playthrough) and I’ve heard there are very interesting ending outcomes that you wouldn’t get to see as Tav, specifically for Gale related to Mystra and his hunger for power. I’ve been really enjoying playing as Gale. I don’t feel like I’d enjoy playing as Astarion as much, and I’d REALLY miss his sass, especially since I’ve had him in my party for the entirety of this particular playthrough
I’m going for power hungry Gale, going against the wishes of Mystra. But I’ve heard rumors there are cheeky things that’ll make her accept you in the end so I might pull some silly shenanigans and become a Gale squid
As far as my takes on other origins go, without having played them lol- since Karlach overall is underdeveloped due to being a late addition, the only thing I’m curious about is what the endings look like from her POV. Laezel and Shart both probably would be fantastic origin playthroughs since they are so intertwined with the entire game. Wyll seems like he could just be a stand-in for a lawful good Tav anyway, he’d probably be a fun first playthrough tbh. Doesn’t have a strong personal quest, just like Tav lol. But I’ve seen his story and don’t anticipate anything new from him. I’m not sure what an Astarion origin campaign could add to his character either, since the bulk of his story happens in act 3. So I assume Raphael probably plays a bigger part in story exposition, if the narrator doesn’t just outright do the “you think about the scars on your back. What do they mean??” thing.
Anyway nobody fucking asked me to write all this but I haven’t slept and it’s noon so why not
Thanks for taking the time to write that. I appreciate it! Zero irony or mockery, that was awesome.
For the record, I've just started a Wyll playthrough. You're right, I haven't learned much that's brand new information. But I've been given lots of new and unique interactions and cutscenes which make his character and story deeper and more compelling. Which is the whole point of the origin arcs imnsho.
@@kevwox
@@PaulRGauthier im glad you think so! enjoy your wyll origin homie, been loving the gale one and i definitely think origins are underrated af
I know it would be way out there.. but I think they could have left the origin characters as a “blank slate” race and background could be locked in, so that the voice actors/actresses would align while still allowing gender fluidity and the appearance which is marginally only an impact on the player could still be customized. That way you can take in more of the story aspects but still feel like each character is custom to you. Except Astarion, he’s perfect as is.
You at 0:29 "Grab yourself at nice warm mug of chocolate". Followed by me pausing the video and doing exactly that 😉
I don't like the custom characters, they feel so unconnected to the plot. But I do love the Dark Urge, which is my favourite origin character, because it combines the best of both worlds: You are part of the world, but can also customize your character. Really think they should have given us a few more origins like that. I could easily see a Noble origin character, or maybe a Harper, one of Jaheira's children.
My experience is different. I'm still playing first run with my roommate and we regretted making custom characters. we're missing out a lot of OC interactions and development. But that is also bc there's two of us so we just have 2 OC in the party, we're kinda ditching/killing the others accidentally :)
I was thinking about Wyll or DUrge for my next solo play, any advises?
Durge is a great choice. Without giving away any spoilers, it gives you more context to the main story and has a bunch of extra Durge exclusive dialogue and cutscenes. I really enjoyed playing as Durge 😄
Well...with at least Astarion (the only origin character I played) I don't think there was any difference. I just got two unique cutscene in the beginning of the first act. The rest didn't change much.
I've done custom and dark urge playthrough and wondering if there's anything interesting playing as origin character? Cause we already experience their storylines and I enjoy most of their stories but dunno if it's worth it to play as them. Plus if you play as origin, you won't hear the voiceover (correct me if I'm wrong), I'll be missing their top notch voice acting :(
Karlach has monologues and inner dialogs.
I'm not gonna talk about the custom character - continues to talk about the custom character.
I really wanna talk about the dark urge, but I can't.
I would have left a like but I didn't want to mess up the "777" score
I played customs several times but over time I've been playing with Shadowheart. Perhaps would later try out Lae'zel to see if she has something unique in her interaction.
I always play a custom character in all games because i never feel immersed in the game"s world.
Eeventhough i'm playing i always feel like a spectator of the story but it's a story i can slightlty modify like what class my character is or dialogue choices.
i'm usually in a situation where i dislike all the dialogue options or story choices but i have to pick one (obviously), so i still feel restrained by what the devs allowed me to do.
I think Dragon Age: Origins did a great job with giving the player, at least a little bit of choice, when it came to the origin of the player character. Such as, you could play an elf, who grew up in a forest, or an elf who grew up in slavery. Both stories would be referred to at some point in the game.
In BG3, this could be done as a series of choices. But if none of those options were to the players' liking, they could simply pick an option saying "Unknown" or "Unremarkable", and then that point would simply not be referred to in the story.
Either way, great video and interesting topic.
As someone who played Gale in my first solo run, followed by a Durge run, the main problem I have with Origin Characters is that there is *ZERO* customization. Even in DOS2, we could at least change the character's appearance to feel more comfortable as them. Maybe I want to imagine Fane had his skeleton char-black as a result of him being entombed in a Volcano? Sure. Maybe he socketed gems in his eyes because he thought they'd enhance his vision somehow? Go right ahead. Maybe change Ifan's hair? He doesn't care, go wild.
Do you want to change Astarion or Shadowheart's Half High-Elf Cantrip Racial? Nope. You want to shave Gale on Tressyn's insistence? *Not happening.* These characters will not change in any way. shape or form and I find that very irritating. Durge feels so much better because I can interact with the world in a way that a Custom character will not because Durge has a history in the setting. I'd LOVE to play as Astarion in the future... but I also want to be able to customize my character and *you can't do that with any Origin besides Durge.*
I subscribed for the Dark Urge video
Great perspective
I also primarily play characters that are self inserts to the extent the game lets me
By playing as Astarion I know more about him? Are you crazy? Playing as him U never learnt about
SPOILERS
that he was entombed for a year
How he feels about using his body for sex
How much much afraid he is about wveything
How much he craves power and why
I think you haven't played this particulr origin and judging what other people say, other origins
I like most of the companions, and it would be interesting to see what it different playing as them vs playing with them, but it I am playing as them, controlling what choices they make and what they say, are they really the same character? What would be interesting is if the dialog options that they would normally approve of are not present, since they would not choose that anyway. Then again as a custom I sometimes choose options I do not approve of because I an trying to be nice to a companion. ahhh too many options
I haven't played BG 3 yet, but with an Origin character, to me, it feels like I would be staying too long with them considering that BG 3 is supposed to be very long.
Orgin characters seem to be like Hawke from afar, and I like Hawke a lot because of the voice and personality. If most of the dialogue is unvoiced for Orgin characters then the benefit of giving up the freedom to make a character seems to not be worth losing, as they wouldn't express a personality.
I've only done custom and have to admit I keep rerolling new ones (restartisis is a real condition! lol)
I've dabbled with Dark Urge but you need to be in the right mood to play that one.... i always struggle being evil in games despite my best (or in this case worst) intentions XD
It's totally possible to do a good playthrough as the Dark Urge! :) I'm doing one atm, I also struggle with evil playthroughs. Thankfully most of the evil options can be easily avoided!
This video is amazing.
Thank you!!
I hate Wylls dialogue with a passion so doing an Origin playthrough as wyll sounds like a perfect way for me to finally experience his storyline 😂
Hahaha fair enough!
I love my custom characters tbh
I wish custom characters could become vampires
If you are Min-maxing, Astarion is the most powerful character in the game because of his unique abilities. if you don't care about that, you play what you like. Speed runners use Gale because he has the fastest way to the end of the game... or one of the endings.
The Dark Urge is said to be the main character of the game, so He/she is the Protagonist of the game... if you can call it that, saying anymore is spoiler territory.
there is one thing set in stone for costum characters. they are all from Baldur's gate (Balduvian)
Actually not true, if you are underdark race like drow or duergar the baldurian tag becomes underdark which will be your home. When tav anyway, durge is probably a different matter
id play the dark urge v,v but im to much a goodie goodie. Dont wanna hurt people, want to be the hero XD.
I played as Astarion origin and ut was underwhelming. You can't play as Astarion, really. The choices are mostly Tav choices with a sprinkle of Astarion choices, but very few.
And you lose all the acting of the origin. And there is virtually no acknowledgement of Astarion's romance problems, fears, traumas.
There were TWO soecial Astarion cutscenes. And the only thing is just hiding you're a vampire in act 1 but you'll be outed.
one thing i've noticed when people play as origin characters are that they often act terribly OOC, which is why you should atleast play though the game one time before playing an origin aswell as romance them
Origin characters have the same issue as they did in DA, they basically have all the same story beats as the custom but, additional content related to there origin story to. You will experience this story with a Custom Tav but as the origin character you get additional scenes, dialogue and choices you wouldn't get otherwise. I love Larian but... why didn't they just make these characters into " backgrounds " you chose rather then fleshed out characters. Still love the game to death ... but this has and will always bother me.
hey, glad you made the vid, I watched 5 others before yours and they had no real substance...I decided to go with an origin toon after yours, gj
Glad to hear that! Enjoy your playthrough 😄
I played as astarion for my first companion origin character and speedran to act 3 because I wanted ascension asap he's so broken
So, did you make dark urge your canon?
I did! A resisting one 😄
Most of the cons with Origin characters are nonexistent on PC. Mods let you change literally anything about them.
TAV character feels empty and boring compared to premade characters.
Dark Urge is just a better version of the Custom Character
I've heard a lot of people say that, and the more I play Dark Urge the more I start to agree. I still think it's good that they kept it as a separate option, though!
thats the bum-my thing about making a custom character in this game.
it feels out of place. like a bystander, an invisible friend, a watcher... they arent really part of the story or the world. they are just there.
All the origin characters suck. Expect the dark urge. These characters great in supporting role custom characters are meant to be in lead roll.
Durge was a bit disappointing to me.
Few flavour options here and there but no real game changer nor consequences for your actions past or present.
Overall, Origin characters add a more intimate PoV, where as companions they would be more reserved. Some things might happen without the player choice Tav would propose.
But overall: the same.