As with many other games based on Dungeons and Dragons, Baldur’s Gate 3 takes some liberties with the rules it does and doesn’t include. One such example is Ready Action, where you can prepare a move for implementation on the next rotation, something tactics RPG Solasta made ample use of, and its upcoming sequel, Solasta 2, is doubling down on it to a considerable degree.
Developer Tactical Adventures went deeper into how in a new blog. “Ready Action is most useful in a couple of situations, such as when an opponent is hiding behind cover and hitting them would be too difficult during your turn, or waiting for a foe to come to you instead of you running to them – but that’s just the start,” the post reads.
“Once you start taking into consideration initiative and turn order, and the vast arsenal of actions that each of your adventurers has access to… Plans can start getting very elaborate,” the team continues. In the first game, this was mostly tied to offensive moves, but Solasta 2 is widening what you can get away with.
“We aim to have most actions compatible with Ready Action over time,” the devs state. The vision is to allow for say, curative moves to be prepared while the chosen target makes their way to you, or lock-in a defensive move on an enemy you know is nearby. These can only happen during combat, but once you’ve rolled for initiative, you can start planning.
“We would have loved nothing more than to make it exactly like on tabletop and give you all the possibilities you could imagine,” states the blog. “But this would be a liiiittle overwhelming – if we did, we’d have to code a puzzle game inside your tactical CRPG, and as much as I love Baba is You we are not aiming to create the next Action is Readied.”
When playing in tabletop, you’re at the liberty of your imaginations and the DM, letting the party tease out complex scenarios at a leisurely pace. Everything has to be programmed for a video game, providing inherent limitations. That said, it’ll be “very straightforward” in Solasta 2.
“It triggers whenever a valid target enters the range of your Ready Action,” the post explains. “If you ready a ranged damage spell, it triggers whenever an enemy moves within that range. If you ready a melee healing spell, it triggers whenever a wounded ally moves by you. So on and so forth.”
You’ll be able to test it out for yourself when Solasta 2 goes into early access on March 12.
An epic D&D adventure starring Vecna was apparently abandoned, and now I’m heartbroken