The recent preview of a cinematic trailer for Baldur’s Gate 3 at PAX East has many gamers pondering what will be included in the game that either wasn’t shown or hasn’t been added yet. What was shown looked absolutely phenomenal, but the original two games are considered by many to be the best RPGs ever made.

Needless to say, Larian Studios have some very big shoes to fill. Because this game carries the Dungeons & Dragons name and is continuing such a beloved franchise, gamers will not be as forgiving as they would for other RPGs if Baldur’s Gate 3 does not live up to expectations.

10 Half-Orcs

The footage presented at PAX East showed a wide variety of playable races. Included in the mix are several new races to the Baldur’s Gate series (officially anyway). Among the new races are tieflings and githyanki. One notable omission though is the half-orc race.

This race should really be included, especially considering that the developers included options such as half-drow – a playable race that (probably) nobody was asking for in the first place. Over the past few editions of D&D the half-orc race has become a staple among playable races. Let’s hope that they are included in the final version. Gnomes and yuan-ti purebloods would also be welcome additions.

9 Spelljamming

The footage presented at PAX East showed an illithid Nautiloid during the cinematic opening – and it has many wondering if spelljamming will be in Baldur’s Gate 3. For those not in the know, there is a system in D&D called spelljamming. This is essentially a marriage of D&D with space exploration.

The Nautiloid is one of the more famous ship types in spelljamming, and is most commonly used by the illithid species. This begs the question. Will spelljamming be an aspect of the game, and if so, to what extent? It would be beyond cool if the player could fly through open Realmspace aboard their own spelljammer.

8 Item Creation

Many players of Baldur’s Gate 2 will remember collecting item components and taking them to Cromwell or Cespenar so they could combine them into a useful item, weapon, or piece of armor. This was a fun diversion to the main quest, and some of these forged items were extremely powerful – like the Silver Sword.

The Flail of Ages was particularly useful when dealing with powerful foes like Kangaxx the Demilich. Considering how common the forging of new items, weapons, and armor has become in RPGs now-a-days, it would be sorely missed if it was omitted by Larian.

7 Consoles

The only platforms confirmed for Baldur’s Gate 3 are the PC and Stadia. This caused many console gamer’s hearts to sink upon hearing that news. All might not be lost though. Larian released their Divinity: Original Sin series for the PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and Mac OS, except for the first game, which was never released on the Switch.

It would probably not be the most user-friendly of games to play with a gamepad – even a gamepad with a touchpad (like the PS4 controller). However, if it could be done for the XCOM games, it could be done for Baldur’s Gate 3.

6 Contingencies

Running a wizard has its challenges. They don’t have many hit points, they generally suffer penalties when wearing armor, and their choice of weapon is very limited. The one thing they have is arcane magic, but a wizard can’t rely solely on spells until they get some levels. Even then, they have to contend with having their concentration broken and waiting for the cool-down period after casting.

Spells take time to cast to as well – time enough for an archer to launch an arrow or two at a wizard. This made spells like Sequencer, Spell Trigger, and Contingency invaluable. Let’s hope they are included.

5 Paladins, Bards, And Druids

The available classes shown at PAX East were fighter, wizard, ranger, cleric, rogue, and warlock. One glaring omission is the paladin class, which has been a choice for players since the early days of D&D. Bards would be a nice option, and since bards have traditionally been rogues in D&D, it might be included.

A lot of the gameplay footage shown at PAX was in the wilderness. The ability to use the environment against enemies was also shown to be a feature. When it comes to using the environment as a weapon, the druid reigns supreme. This will definitely be a missed opportunity if druids are not included.

4 The Option To Create A Full Party At The Start

The first two Baldur’s Gate games allowed players to create an entire party of their choosing. The player could also create the protagonist then gather companions while adventuring. While it was fun listening to the NPCs interact with each other, there were times when this could be a real headache.

Anyone who has had Korgan leave the party in the Underdark because he didn’t like traveling with Aerie can attest to this. Because of this, it would be nice if a player had the option of creating their own party when starting. Player created parties were also stronger than those made with the pre-generated companions.

3 Lycanthropes

One new feature being added is the ability to run a vampire. Anyone who played a vampire during a playthrough of Skyrim knows how fun this can be. Hopefully, Larian will also include the ability for players to make their character a lycanthrope of some kind – the obvious one being a werewolf.

However, it would also be fun to be able to make the protagonist a werebear or wererat. The werebear would allow for a good-aligned lycanthrope character, and the wererat would take a thief character to the next level (like being a vampire does). This entry is certainly a long-shot, but gamers can dream.

2 Scalable Spells

This entry probably has the best chance of being included. The developers have commented that the 5th edition ruleset has been faithfully incorporated into Baldur’s Gate 3. In the 5th edition, spells are scalable, meaning a spell could be memorized at a higher-level spell slot for increased effect.

This allows lower-level spells to still remain relevant when characters start fighting tougher enemies. Scalable spells were a much-appreciated addition to D&D, and while this seems like a no-brainer in terms of being included let’s remember that something as simple as being able to run a half-orc or paladin has, as of yet, not been confirmed.

1 A Wide Variety Of Monsters

Something a lot of modern sword and sorcery RPGs lack is a wide variety of monsters to encounter. Games like Skyrim are fun, but fighting giant spiders, trolls, and Draugr over and over really drives down the fun factor. From the glimpses of Baldur’s Gate 3 we’ve been given, it does look like maybe there will be a robust roster of monsters to fight.

So far, uncommon monsters like intellect devourers have been shown, and it’s probably safe to assume there will be illithids (mind flayers). However, it would be somewhat of a letdown if classic D&D monsters like beholders, griffons, minotaur, demons/devils/daemons, or displacer beasts are not represented – let alone dragons.

NEXT: D&D: Best Classes for Beginning Players, Ranked