Baldur’s Gate 3 Beginner Guide | Tips & Tricks

Faerun is an absolute beast of a world, all contained in an even bigger beast of a game; welcome to Baldur’s Gate 3. However, a whole multitude of things would be nice to know to prepare you for the coming chaos. And it starts with….

Character Creation

Naturally, creating your character is the biggest step to take in a game like Baldur’s Gate 3, but truth be told, it’s also your most important step to take because of how it can affect the story to come. You’ll have to pay close attention to your race, sub-race, and all their extra perks like weapon and armor proficiencies, racial bonuses, and more.

This is where it’s highly recommended to take some time and read up on the many races and classes. You don’t want to get stuck with a half-orc wizard who’d be better suited to being a druid or warrior. However, your sub-race can still change things in your favor, too, with the extra perks and bonuses they usually offer in the form of racial cantrips, proficiencies, and resistances.

Another big part of character creation in a DnD-style game to keep in mind is your background. These set your skills and attributes by default, though this can backfire quickly if you want to go down the custom route. Assigning everything yourself is a fun way to get into the flow of it all, but it can and definitely will bite you later with skill checks, movement in turn-based mode, and even actions.

Quick Save

Say what you want; in a game like Baldur’s Gate 3 that relies heavily on rolling for things like persuasion, intimidation, etc., you’ll be glad to know how to quick save. If your luck is particularly bad or RNG just hates you, a quick reload might make the biggest difference when you need it most. Even though there is an auto-save, it doesn’t save often enough to warrant overlooking quick saving, even more so when watching your whole party demolish in a battle. Just like that, the last 30 minutes of your life went to hell.

The Party

Yes, this is a topic of interest. Balance. Your. Party. Simple, right? Not quite… With the strange mix of characters, you’ll find in Faerun, who will join your escapade against The Absolute, you’ll have loads of options to build a monster of a party, but if it’s not balanced or given some thought, it can also cripple your gameplay and leave you with more holes than Swiss Cheese.

The typical loadout for a decent party is 1 tank, 1 healer, and 2 DPS. Translating that over to Baldur’s Gate 3 is somewhat trickier, but classes like the Paladin, Barbarian, and even a Cleric can serve as excellent Tanks while doubling as DPS. Healers are a lot harder to come by when you’re limited to the Cleric and maybe Druid, but Cleric is your usually go-to healer. Then this leaves us the rest as potential DPS classes such – as Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard for Magic and Nuking, Fighter, Monk, Druid, and Rangers are great for the more physical side of it all on the DPS front.

Granted, this isn’t set in stone, as your sub-class and feats can flip any class over into a different direction. This is a big thing to remember, especially with tougher fights against a small army or behemoths.

Stop and Smell The Roses (Exploration)

Faerun is a massive world, and even though Baldur’s Gate 3 only has 3 acts, you’d be pleasantly surprised at how long it takes to finish just Act 1. Unfortunately, it’s just as horrifying how much you can miss through missed opportunities when you consider how the world changes based on your actions or inaction. Take some time and explore, look for ledges to jump onto, and raid an abandoned town or two. Aside from possibly running into new party members, you might even pick up some epic loot or discover more about your party members.

The same can be said about certain events in the world, it’s sad, but there are events where you can lose valuable party members too, just because they have to progress the story one way or another. However, you can still change it through a bit of exploration and maybe even making a friend or two on the way. Maybe even buy an artist, literally, or befriend an Owlbear to go with a certain K9 friend.

Resting and The Progression of Time

Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t take any prisoners, and it sure as hell won’t pause time just because your party needs a recharge. Plan your Long Rests carefully and only use them when you need to; people move on, and other things happen while you sleep. You run the risk of waking up a bunch of dead gnomes or events that passed.

This isn’t to say you should never take a Long Rest, but don’t abuse it after every fight. Budget your skills, spells, and recovery times. You’ll see that the world becomes a lot more rewarding because of it.

Items and Gear

Never underestimate how important simple items like a health potion or elemental arrows can change a sticky situation. Carrying weight is precious, but with some careful dividing between party members, you can easily empty an area the size of a temple and still have room to spare. Though your most important items are the ones you easily overlook, always keep a decent stock of healing potions nearby. Most importantly, arrows are a godsend if you need serious damage, while bombs and other throwable items are great for bonus actions if you need to burn them.

As for gear, don’t worry too much about going for huge armor upgrades. It’s great, and all, same goes for weapons, but they won’t provide much difference at the beginning aside from changing a few abilities. Keep an eye out for the rarer gear with extra effects if you want to build straight for the end game and survival.

Alchemist’s Horror

Baldur’s Gate 3 has an alchemy system if you want to make potions, lotions, elixirs, and coatings. Unfortunately, unless you have some serious gold to spend or the time to hunt down all the ingredients, it’s easier to just loot or buy what you need.

Do It Like Do’little

Ever wondered what the animals are saying? Wonder no more and instead plan for it because between the Spell and potion for Speak With Animals is a must have in any loadout. It removes the guesswork with animal encounters and can also sometimes lead to some interesting conversations, possibly even an extra ally for a quick fight if you flex your silver tongue just right.

Take The High Ground or Take Them From Behind

In combat situations, you’ll get used to advantages and disadvantages. For anybody who prefers ranged attacks, maintaining the high ground will always work in your favor because of the increased hit chance. That is unless you have Magic Missile, which isn’t affected as much by the high-ground advantage.

Add Insult To Injury

You probably already know that you can use the environment to your advantage, but you can take it a step further. From electrifying water puddles for a fun zap to setting grease on fire for an explosive reaction, you’ll have to think outside the box and use what’s around you as well.

For the melee fighters, slay your enemies in the most dishonorable way possible by attacking them from behind for the backstab damage boost. All in all, it boils down to some simple strategy and planning your fights if you can.

A Little Freebie For The Magpies

There’s always that one person or 4 that must take everything that’s not nailed down, even the most pointless items because they can be useful later or at least sold for gold. Your carry weight might be limited, and merchants aren’t always available, well, except for one. Vollo might be a terrible Bard, but as long as you don’t finish his quest, he’ll always be in your camp, and he’ll always have a fat stack of gold. This is the part where you come in by just heading to camp to empty your inventory onto his. Many riches await those who steal that which is not nailed down.

That just about wraps up this little list of tips and tricks. Some of us had to discover it the hard way, but it’ll serve as a lifesaver if you’re new to Faerun. And for the wizards out there, Mystra, watch over you and hopefully not trigger the bomb.