There are a lot of issues with the game but nothing of what you are talking about is true.
Melee combat is OP right now. My paladin can one shot almost everything and takes no damage from missiles.
Dice rolls are random. If you’re getting a lot of 1 rolls and 20 rolls then that is just your own personal luck.
Reactions are attacks of opertunity and they exist in the game.
The story is much better than BG 1 or 2. Maybe you’re thinking of Planescape. Then you would be correct.
Wasn’t giving everyone bows the optimal strat in BG1 as well? I recall doing much better once I stopped trying to micromanage melee fighters.
Not what I recall from bg1 and 2. But the enemies in those games weren’t always positioned at difficult-to-access locations making it hard to use melee weapons. While using ranged weapons in bg1 and 2 might have made “management” easier for you, you’re at a major disadvantage with melee weapons in bg3 because nearly all enemies will use ranged attacks and they do their best to keep moving away from you. It’s not fun.
Then run up to them, catch them by surprise so you get a free turn to close the distance, there are options but it is tactically oriented. Also turn down the difficulty is an option, nothing lost by playing on an easier difficulty. If you’re in range with a melee character they should get a reaction when an enemy runs away which gives basically a free attack action. I haven’t progressed far but it feels like an expected difficulty at normal. Not saying normal is easy but you’re only expected to do a few encounters before resting so your casters can perform well.
