Larian Discusses the Underdevelopment of a Key Companion in Baldur’s Gate 3
The companions you meet on your epic adventure in Baldur’s Gate 3 along the Sword Coast are a fantastic crew, but one character who didn’t quite get his due is Wyll. This Warlock underwent significant changes before the game’s launch in 2023, as developer Larian realized his storyline from the early access version wasn’t hitting the mark. While his character design, Warlock class, and recruitment location remained intact, his narrative was completely overhauled, his voice actor was replaced, and he was given connections to other characters, like the Tiefling party member Karlach.
In a recent Reddit AMA, the Larian team shed light on the development process and why Wyll has less content compared to other companions. It turns out that Wyll’s story was coming together just as the other party members were being finalized, leading to the cutting of some planned storylines. Senior writer Kevin VanOrd mentioned that he faced health issues during critical phases of development, which meant he lost valuable time that could have been spent expanding Wyll’s role. Overall, VanOrd expressed his affection for the character but lamented the missed opportunities to develop him further.
As many players noticed, Wyll’s early recruitment and initial quests didn’t resonate, prompting a reset when most other companion arcs were more established. Some decisions came later in development than ideal, and a significant plot point involving Wyll near Baldur’s Gate (the Red War College) ended up being scrapped. This led to a fresh start, where they connected him to Duke Ravengard, but unfortunately, VanOrd fell ill, which delayed progress on that aspect of his story.
The idea for Ansur’s lair came from Swen, and while they had the resources for a standalone dungeon, they could only develop Wyll’s connection to the Wyrmway to the extent of creating a dungeon boss. Once the scenarios were set, VanOrd had to focus on writing them, which resulted in Wyll’s content being less extensive than he had hoped. Wyll’s narrative ended up being split into two arcs—the Mizora story and the Ravengard story—which VanOrd now sees as a potential misstep. He also wished he could have crafted a more impactful conclusion for Wyll, as it always bothered him that Wyll could end up unchanged as the Blade of Frontiers.
Since the release of Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian has added new content for Wyll and other companions, but he still feels a bit behind the rest of the party. Based on VanOrd’s insights, it seems Wyll was largely a casualty of timing and circumstances, though that may not fully appease fans who have seen other characters receive more attention and development throughout the game.
