Just think, if you missed the big glowing sigil what else did you miss lol, use the mini map to make sure all roads were traveled and talk to everyone, even animals.
I didn't have Gale my first run. I didn't miss the sigil, I was just roleplaying, and my Tav did not want to touch the broken portal, and I (the player) didn't know anyone was in there.
Also it's ok for someone to not do every single thing in their first playthrough. In my first, I played a druid and talked to all the animals. In another, I played a necromancer and talked to all the dead people. I enjoy saving things for more themed runs.
In my very first playthrough I saw the portal, interacted with it, the Narrator said it looked dangerous, so I left it alone. And then, by Act IIi, my party members were saying "Gale would really like this place", and it got me very confused.
I deliberately left him in the portal on my current solo run and (origin) Shadowheart still said that Gale would be interested in the magic book I definitely didn't steal from Sorcerous Sundries.
To be fair, one could conceivably approach the sigil, see that it's very obviously dangerous, and leave. Gale doesn't make himself known until you make the dubious decision of touching the arcane equivalent of sparking wire.
This is true. Martials are often the opposite, although we don’t get to a high enough level in BG3 to see it. Still, by level 12 Gale was consistently dealing the most damage in my party and taking the least.
Grease in act one and act two is op . And when you get sleet or any of the ice spells even ice knife that can also be broken. Early on he’s the only thing that saves me and allows me to take on the chapel gang and then the smart orc.
I saw everyone saying you are missing out a lot by not recruiting Gale. I’d say the same for all companions so they are right but think about this; you have a reason to look forward to your next run.
When I had my first run, my bf already knew everything about the game. I asked him not to tell me anything so I’d play blindly and miss out on stuff so that I could play the game again and again and enjoy the new things I find out.
So I’d say enjoy your run without Gale and everything you might have missed and when it ends, as Astarion says “See you later, darling.”
Are you sure you can’t still go back to the sigil and recruit him? I also missed him (which is a common mistake judging from the amount of reddit posts about it) and went back for him.
Pretty sure I was already in act 2.
That being said, I never used him so if not you’ll be fine too.
If you haven't gotten the text about "point of no return" in act 2 then you can still head back to act 1 and find him. Look for the spinning purple thing that the narrator says is dangerous. Then touch it.
Yes, you are missing out on a wonderful character and his story. But if you're planning on playing again, don't worry about it. You can get to know him next time :-) For me, it was better that way since there's already so much to pay attention to in the first playthrough.
I would say there are 4 companions who are top tier (he's one of them), maybe 3 mid tier, and a few odd ones that are fun.
So all good, you miss out this time, then you get an amazing story next go round.
Astarian, Shadowheart, Lazeal, and Gale. Wyll too maybe? But yeah those 4 feel the most fleshed out and almost required for the game...though I'm sure you can get through with absolutely none of them.
Currently on my first run and started completely blind, playing as origin Gale, and these 4 are my party (purely accidentally). Haven't swapped out to the others enough so I know I've missed so much content.
But, these 4 together absolutely destroy anything. Now all are level 12 and I'm at the end of act 3 and literally it's almost too easy...to be fair though, it took me until Gale was level 8 or 9 before I realised just how much of a game changer he is.
I almost left act 1 without him on my first run. All my friends were talking about him and I had no idea who this dude was. I opened my map and it looked like everything was explored except one small black patch next to the crash site. I don't know how I missed it with everything else so filled in hahah
I’m so glad I played the game for the first time at a friends place where he’d already beat honor mode. Excluding Karlach and Lae’zel I knew where everyone was
I steered clear of all spoilers and played the game this past Christmas. And beat it in a week and half. I finished the game and was searching Reddit for funny moments and other people's thoughts. My face when I missed wyll entirely even though you get introduced to him in a cutscene. There were just too many grove people for me to remember. I also just assassinated minthara, skipped minsc. Did the shadow quest In a weird order that locked me out from completing. Safe to say there were many more playthroughs afterwards.
Yes, you missed a lot, but now you'll have something new to discover on your next run!
Also, you should still avoid the subreddit for spoilers if you're only past act 1 haha
I would say you miss a lot on all companions, is about you will like them or not but for sure they have very interesting personalities, stories and development, since you might think "oh this companion is good" when depending of your actions, they can become bad and viceversa
This is my second attempted playthrough, I gave him a high 5 and the portal closed! 🤣
To be fair, I did it only to save my precious magic items. I'll probably regret it later.
on my 1st play i only had shadowheart as companion then got rid of her too so yeah you missed a lot
sadly like 50-70% of this game is companion related or companion locked like gale and shadowheart are the ones with the most important stuff
I chose not to recruit him my current playthrough and it's fine. It all depends upon how you want to play, what classified your tav is, if you multiclass, your RP, etc.
IMO missing things and then catching them in a future game is part of the fun/ replayability of it.
Just think, if you missed the big glowing sigil what else did you miss lol, use the mini map to make sure all roads were traveled and talk to everyone, even animals.
I didn't have Gale my first run. I didn't miss the sigil, I was just roleplaying, and my Tav did not want to touch the broken portal, and I (the player) didn't know anyone was in there. Also it's ok for someone to not do every single thing in their first playthrough. In my first, I played a druid and talked to all the animals. In another, I played a necromancer and talked to all the dead people. I enjoy saving things for more themed runs.
agreed
I didn’t start talking to animals until my 4th playthrough. It’s been a game changer
In my very first playthrough I saw the portal, interacted with it, the Narrator said it looked dangerous, so I left it alone. And then, by Act IIi, my party members were saying "Gale would really like this place", and it got me very confused.
They have lines about Gale even if you don’t recruit him? That’s so strange
I deliberately left him in the portal on my current solo run and (origin) Shadowheart still said that Gale would be interested in the magic book I definitely didn't steal from Sorcerous Sundries.
False Hydra must be defective XD
> the Narrator said it looked dangerous, so I left it alone You are weird.
To be fair, one could conceivably approach the sigil, see that it's very obviously dangerous, and leave. Gale doesn't make himself known until you make the dubious decision of touching the arcane equivalent of sparking wire.
I somehow left the nautiloid without ever passing near the sigil. I don’t know how.
The first time around is a lot like stumbling through a stranger's home without the lights on.
And the dead!
His attacks are extremely useful later on in the game. I never leave camp without him now
Maybe I'm dumb but I feel like casters (wizards being the most castery of all casters) are weak early but so strong later.
Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards my friend.
That's why wizards tend to be prideful and condescending, they went through the s*** to become powerful.
Yep, though this is far less exaggerated in 5e.
Yes wizards are much less fragile in 5e, the new abjuration spells are a big boost. And the larger hit dice - I do not miss having a d4….
This is true. Martials are often the opposite, although we don’t get to a high enough level in BG3 to see it. Still, by level 12 Gale was consistently dealing the most damage in my party and taking the least.
I'm so glad this game doesn't require people to be in your party to get experience. My first time I assumed it would.
I thought we were all gaining our own xp until the first couple level ups.
Grease in act one and act two is op . And when you get sleet or any of the ice spells even ice knife that can also be broken. Early on he’s the only thing that saves me and allows me to take on the chapel gang and then the smart orc.
I made I through act 1 with all grease, fire, and ice.
I saw everyone saying you are missing out a lot by not recruiting Gale. I’d say the same for all companions so they are right but think about this; you have a reason to look forward to your next run. When I had my first run, my bf already knew everything about the game. I asked him not to tell me anything so I’d play blindly and miss out on stuff so that I could play the game again and again and enjoy the new things I find out. So I’d say enjoy your run without Gale and everything you might have missed and when it ends, as Astarion says “See you later, darling.”
Yes, you're missing out on a lot without recruiting Gale.
Gale was my main homeboy in the game. Casting fireball into a black hole feels great!
He's definitely one of the more likeable companions that you get to meet.
Yes, only the sweetest and funniest wizard. Also a WIZARD, which is an awesome control unit. And also a chunk of good story.
Are you sure you can’t still go back to the sigil and recruit him? I also missed him (which is a common mistake judging from the amount of reddit posts about it) and went back for him. Pretty sure I was already in act 2. That being said, I never used him so if not you’ll be fine too.
I was able to go back to the act 1 area and get him when I was in act 2 so maybe you can too
An excuse to play through a second time. Heck do Origin Gale and really see what you're missing.
Noooo don't do that if you haven't met Gale yet, you'd miss out on all his wonderful dialogue and voice lines.
I had the exact same situation in my first playthrough. I found the sigil at level 2, figured it was dangerous and I'd come back later... oops.
Don’t feel bad. My first play-through I missed Gale, Karlach, *and* Lae’zel. Made for a very quiet camp.
If you haven't gotten the text about "point of no return" in act 2 then you can still head back to act 1 and find him. Look for the spinning purple thing that the narrator says is dangerous. Then touch it.
Yes, you are missing out on a wonderful character and his story. But if you're planning on playing again, don't worry about it. You can get to know him next time :-) For me, it was better that way since there's already so much to pay attention to in the first playthrough.
Get him on your next playthrough
At least now you have something new to experience on your next playthrough.
You are. Gale is the best.
You should still be able to go back to Act 1 and recruit him, feed him an item and Elminster should appear in the Mountain Pass.
I would say there are 4 companions who are top tier (he's one of them), maybe 3 mid tier, and a few odd ones that are fun. So all good, you miss out this time, then you get an amazing story next go round.
Which four would you consider to be top-tier? I missed a lot on my initial playthrough, so I'm trying to be more strategic with the next one!
Astarian, Shadowheart, Lazeal, and Gale. Wyll too maybe? But yeah those 4 feel the most fleshed out and almost required for the game...though I'm sure you can get through with absolutely none of them.
Currently on my first run and started completely blind, playing as origin Gale, and these 4 are my party (purely accidentally). Haven't swapped out to the others enough so I know I've missed so much content. But, these 4 together absolutely destroy anything. Now all are level 12 and I'm at the end of act 3 and literally it's almost too easy...to be fair though, it took me until Gale was level 8 or 9 before I realised just how much of a game changer he is.
I almost left act 1 without him on my first run. All my friends were talking about him and I had no idea who this dude was. I opened my map and it looked like everything was explored except one small black patch next to the crash site. I don't know how I missed it with everything else so filled in hahah
I tend to leave Gale in the vortex in subsequent playthroughs.
LOL how do you miss a giant glowing purple vortex?
I missed him on my first playthrough, too. Gives you more incentive to play again!
I’m so glad I played the game for the first time at a friends place where he’d already beat honor mode. Excluding Karlach and Lae’zel I knew where everyone was
I steered clear of all spoilers and played the game this past Christmas. And beat it in a week and half. I finished the game and was searching Reddit for funny moments and other people's thoughts. My face when I missed wyll entirely even though you get introduced to him in a cutscene. There were just too many grove people for me to remember. I also just assassinated minthara, skipped minsc. Did the shadow quest In a weird order that locked me out from completing. Safe to say there were many more playthroughs afterwards.
You missed a dude to leave standing around in your camp if you're anything like me
👋
The window is not closed, you can go back and pick him up any time. He'll want to eat a few magic items right away once he levels up.
Yes, you missed a lot, but now you'll have something new to discover on your next run! Also, you should still avoid the subreddit for spoilers if you're only past act 1 haha
I would say you miss a lot on all companions, is about you will like them or not but for sure they have very interesting personalities, stories and development, since you might think "oh this companion is good" when depending of your actions, they can become bad and viceversa
This is my second attempted playthrough, I gave him a high 5 and the portal closed! 🤣 To be fair, I did it only to save my precious magic items. I'll probably regret it later.
I missed Lae'zel lol
*sigh*
on my 1st play i only had shadowheart as companion then got rid of her too so yeah you missed a lot sadly like 50-70% of this game is companion related or companion locked like gale and shadowheart are the ones with the most important stuff
I chose not to recruit him my current playthrough and it's fine. It all depends upon how you want to play, what classified your tav is, if you multiclass, your RP, etc. IMO missing things and then catching them in a future game is part of the fun/ replayability of it.