Baldurs Gate 3: Tips and tricks Baldurs Gate 3 guide, walkthrough

Looking for the best advice on BG3? Our guide provides tips on how to start the game and what mistakes to avoid. We discuss disarming traps, recruiting companions to the party and optional paths.

Last update: 31 May 2024

On this page, you will find a set of tips for beginners for Baldur's Gate 3. We've prepared various tips and tricks on, e.g. combat and exploration of the game world. Things listed there should help you during the first hours with BG3.

• Save your progress as often as possible
• Examine opponents by checking the cards with information about them
• Try to place your party members in such a way that would give you an advantage over enemies
• Environmental hazards can be a hindrance or advantage
• Not all fights are mandatory
• Choose those skillchecks where you have the best chance of success
• Search all locations thoroughly
• Look for optional locations and paths
• Recruit companions as soon as possible after completing the prologue
• Analyze the queue of moves during fights
• Be sure to defuse the traps
• Push enemies off high ledges

Save your progress as often as possible

In Baldur's Gate 3 you can save without restrictions and you should definitely use this. You can do manual, fast, and auto saves. Save the game:

1. Before examining an unknown device or having a conversation with an important NPC. There is always the possibility of some important choices or unique options.
2. Before attempting to pass a skill check. If the attempt fails, you won't be able to repeat it.
3. Before starting a fight. This will allow you to test different ways of preparing for a battle and to sneak up on the enemies. You can also use the saves to avoid fights.
4. When you are in the middle of the fight. You can save the game in each turn and after every move. This will allow you, for example, to cancel a bad move or repeat a missed attack.

For more information on saving your progress go to Saving - when can I do that? page in the FAQ chapter.

Examine opponents by checking the cards with information about them

Baldur's Gate 3 allows you to display information about your opponents and all other characters for free. To do this, you need to move the cursor over a given character, press the right mouse button, and select the option to display the character card.

You can learn, e.g. about the number of their health points, armor class, resistance to different types of attacks and spells, speed of movement, proficiency, or initiative. All this knowledge will help you determine whether you will be able to easily defeat this character, as well as better prepare to attack it (e.g. choosing attacks and spells associated with its weaknesses).

Try to place your party members in such a way that would give you an advantage over enemies

You can and should prepare for many fights by placing your characters near opponents before the fight starts. Use stealth mode to avoid being detected too soon. You can change the placement of party members when the fight begins – enemies will react to your decisions. Remember to:

1. Place party members fighting at a distance (using magic or ranged weapons) on higher terrain. The idea is to give them the height advantage that increases the chances of successful attacks.
2. Try to position characters fighting with light melee weapons behind opponents' backs. Back attacks deal more damage. This is particularly important when controlling a character belonging to the Ranger class.

For more details, see the pages dedicated to combat and sneaking.

Environmental hazards can be a hindrance or advantage

The battlefields in Baldur's Gate 3 are interactive – you have to take this into account when planning attacks and routes for your party members. Depending on the circumstances, environmental threats may help you eliminate enemies or pose additional threats to your party. Here are some tips for them:

1. Try to check the battlefield before you start a fight, or do this in the first turn. By moving the cursor over interactive objects or elements of the ground, you can see information about their characteristics.
2. Look for opportunities to weaken enemies using environmental threats, e.g. by setting explosive objects on fire or detonating them, or by dropping heavy cargo on opponents.
3. Avoid contact with potential hazards, such as fire or slippery surfaces that can slow or weaken your party members.

Not all fights are mandatory

Baldur's Gate 3 is a type of game in which multiple quests and individual confrontations can be completed in various ways. Some of them let you avoid fights. This can be particularly helpful when you can be forced to fight a strong opponent or a group. Remember the following:

1. You can start a battle by making specific choices during the conversation, such as choosing a dialogue option that triggers a fight or failing a skillcheck. Remember to save the game before each encounter.
2. Some fights can be avoided by not getting close to opponents visible in the distance. For example, you can try to sneak past them or look for a completely different route to your destination.

Choose those skillchecks where you have the best chance of success

A greater chance of success in a skillcheck gives you bonus points to the value you got from a dice roll (in the example in the picture above, this bonus is 3). You can receive a bonus if the skillcheck is linked to a skill in which the character has achieved proficiency, or to a trait that he or she has developed sufficiently. Try to look for these skillchecks, especially if there are several different ones to choose from during a single scene or conversation. Two important things to remember here:

1. A skillcheck is always done by the hero who initiated it. If you can choose the person to perform a given activity, choose the hero who will get the highest bonus.
2. The success of the skillcheck, even with the potential bonus, depends heavily on luck. We strongly advise you to make a quick save before taking any skillcheck– a failed test cannot be repeated.

For more information on the skillchecks, see, e.g. Skillcheck - can you repeat it? page in the FAQ chapter.

Search all locations thoroughly

In Baldur's Gate 3, there is plenty of loot waiting to be discovered the locations you visit. You can find it in two main ways:

1. By holding the ALT key in each new location. This will highlight some of the interactive elements in the area, such as corpses or chests. You can then examine them in search of treasure.
2. By moving the cursor over all the unique elements of the environment. This will help you find those objects or chests that were not marked with the ALT key. These containers may also hide some treasures.

For more information, see How to highlight items nearby? page in the FAQ chapter.

Look for optional locations and paths

Each major location in BG3 contains optional passages and minor locations that can hold unique treasures or alternative paths to areas associated with quests. Here are some key hints for them:

1. You can jump to some places. Look for shelves and platforms that are seemingly inaccessible. You can always check if they're within jumping range.
2. You can stack items and climb them. This is another method of reaching locations that are inaccessible at first glance.
3. The thief's tools give you a chance to open a locked door. Remember to choose a hero with enough points in Sleight of Hand.

For more tips and hints, visit the Exploration section in our guide to Baldur's Gate 3.

Recruit companions as soon as possible after completing the prologue

After the prologue aboard the Nautiloid, your character wakes up alone on a beach. Fortunately, you won't be alone for too long. By exploring the area you can quickly recruit the first companions. For example, right next to the beach, you will come across a closed entrance to the ruins - a cleric named Shadowheart stands nearby. Recruiting her will give you access to many useful spells.

Having more party members will be very helpful in winning the initial battles. This also gives you greater versatility, both on the battlefield and in sequences that require, for example, using characters' skills to increase the chance of passing skillchecks.

The list of playable characters has information on where to recruit new companions.

Analyze the queue of moves during fights

When fighting, the queue of the moves is always displayed in the top left corner of the screen, in which team members and allies (green border) and opponents (red border) are included. You can use that knowledge and try to eliminate, weaken or paralyze stronger opponents before their turn. Similarly, you can also heal, strengthen or impose blessings on those allies who will soon make their moves.

Side note – only those team members who entered the fight are included in the queue.

Be sure to defuse the traps

Traps in Baldur's Gate 3 can instantly kill one or even all of the team members. So it's best to look out for them when exploring all sorts of dungeons, crypts and other locations with valuable treasures. Traps can be identified through successful perception tests.

After locating a trap, you definitely try to neutralize it by using a character with agile hands and a set to disarm the traps. Before any such action, save the game, because a failed attempt can not only lead to the loss of tools, but also to the triggering of the trap. If you're unable to disarm the trap, it's best to leave it for later, return with more experience.

You can learn more about traps in the section entitled – How to disarm traps? in the FAQ section of the guide.

Push enemies off high ledges

There's a bonus action called Shove, and it's available for all characters regardless of the represented class. You can choose this action from the blue bar to the left of the character's thumbnail at the bottom of the screen.

With Shove, you can seriously weaken or kill opponents. Try to use this action on enemies standing on high rock shelves or near a chasm. When planning a Shove, you will see the opponent's probable "trajectory" (example in the picture). Enemies falling from greater heights will receive more damage. In extreme cases, the shoved opponent may die.