Larian Studio’s Baldur’s Gate 3 is finally out after being in Early Access for almost 3 years. However, since early access, there has been a lot of confusion regarding the gameplay. For gamers who are new to the RPG genre or Baldur’s Gate 3’s dungeons and dragons-style gameplay, the initial experience can be challenging.
We played the first few hours of the game and zeroed down on these 15 beginner’s tips for Baldur’s Gate 3 that could help with your playthrough:
- Use multiclassing carefully.
- Perform manual saves more often.
- Learn how to save a downed ally.
- Use the environment to your advantage.
- Camp and rest adequately.
- Get creative with torches.
- Seek peaceful resolution with Speech Options.
- Use Bonus Actions.
- Understand Karmic Dice to gain an advantage.
- Sneak into battles.
- Be strategic with your positioning and movement in combat.
- Choose your companions wisely.
- Beware of the Illithid bug.
- Use boxes and trunks as makeshift ladders.
- Make Shadowheart your companion.
Let’s dive into each of these tips in detail.
Multiclassing and Ability scores
Multiclassing in Baldur’s Gate 3 is an interesting 5e feature that many of you might to tempted to try out. While the combined result may offer some immediate satisfaction of a more diverse character, it comes at the cost of leaving several abilities of your base class unexplored. Furthermore, Baldur’s Gate 3 makes it quite easy to multiclass, especially with lower ability score requirements. This means that you could multiclass with an ability score of less than 10 and end up having a character that suffers in several stats.
Not only will such problems affect combat, but it could also limit your abilities checks substantially. Given the game’s extensive abilities check progression and a difficult combat system, it would be wise to stick to your base class initially and build your abilities evenly before trying multiclassing.
Save hard, save fast, save often
This is the oldest rule when it comes to RPGs. While autosaves are frequent enough in Baldur Gate 3, nothing beats the comfort and safety of a hard manual save. Doing manual saves often enough allows you to preserve your progress at a point where you can restart if things turn sour. Manual saves before crucial points in a quest can also help you choose a different option should you desire. This also allows you to have a better chance at succeeding in speech checks and lock picking.
Learn how to save a Downed character
This is one aspect where the game doesn’t offer enough clarity. It is common in Baldur’s Gate 3 for a character to get knocked out in combat rather than killed. This is a rather precarious position as the character will have a predefined number of turns before they die. You can aid such characters by having any of the active characters use the ‘help’ action. This is quite useful in keeping your party intact throughout your playthrough, though it comes at the expense of an action point which could prove disadvantageous during battle.
The environment is always your best ally
Baldur’s Gate 3 borrows a lot from the Divinity series than its own predecessors. So, the environment is a major factor in the combat system. You can use various environmental effects to your advantage. These can be existing effects or ones that you create yourself.
For example, fire is an incredible environmental effect that can be used by harnessing the power of grease. You can find grease in bottles scattered all over the world, or you could simply conjure some up with a spell. Once spread across the desired area, grease can make life difficult for any enemies looking to pounce on you.
There are various effects like lightning, poison, water etc. which can be used to create a lot of mayhem to aid you in combat. Dipping your weapon in any of these elements is a neat feature added to this game that makes combat a lot more engaging.
Camp for a more relaxing gameplay
Unlike most part-based RPGs, camping actually plays an important role in Baldur’s Gate 3. There are plenty of useful activities that you can partake in while camping. The obvious purpose of camping is to take either a short or long rest, which will allow your party to regain stats, bonuses, and recharge spells. Resting also speeds up time.
Camps also serve a much greater purpose in building relationships with your companions. Many interactions with your party members are available at camps, including ones that lead to the much-publicized romance option. Camps can also be used to switch your party and store various items that you will not need on your next venture.
Furthermore, camps serve as a place of congregation for certain crucial NPCs that you’ve met in your travels, like the hooded skeleton who can offer some unique dialogue and abilities.
Don’t shy away from risking a little more light
Torches are a crucial part of any RPG with dungeons and caves. This game in particular has many places that work to your advantage when lit well. Torches in Baldur’s Gate 3 can serve as a weapon in times of need, and the game even describes it as a melee weapon of the club category.
Apart from dealing blunt damage, the torch might also come in handy as a much-needed source of fire when there is some incinerating to do, especially with the aforementioned grease trap (although such a feature using torches is not yet confirmed).
The tongue is mightier than the sword
Baldur’s Gate 3 is an RPG game and one where you have several ways to accomplish things. There is almost always a way to resolve a situation without resorting to carnage and bloodshed. Speech options are available at almost every encounter. Depending on your level with the related traits and skills, you can talk you way to a peaceful solution.
Given how difficult certain battles can be early in the game or even as you progress quite deep, resorting to a more peaceful dialogue can help you sail smoothly through tougher situations.
Actions and Bonus Actions
One of the most confusing aspects of Baldur’s Gate 3 is the combat system and its action point system. Despite going out of their way to explain real-time action, which is self-explanatory, Larian Studios does an incredibly poor job of defining the bonus action system in combat. In any case, each action in combat is worth an action point. So regular actions such as combat move, heal, etc. will consume one action point.
Then there are bonus actions that are acquired based on racial/class stats or while performing some actions such as hiding. These bonus actions are limited and are at times only available during the current turn as with actions such as sneaking, hiding, or even certain combat moves. It is important that you use these bonus actions as and when they are available. Certain spells and potions can also boost your bonus actions.
Karmic Dice can be your friend or foe
A noticeable part of Baldur’s Gate 3’s D&D style gameplay is the 20-sided Karmic Dice which decides the fate of every real-time encounter in the game. From a basic speech check to disabling complex contraptions, the outcome of your effort depends on the roll of the dice. It is therefore crucial to understand the dice system. While the outcome of each roll is completely left up to chance, you improve your odds by using your abilities and boosting certain traits.
Each roll depends on particular abilities with traits and features, which could improve your chances. In essence, each roll of the dice is also an abilities check. To explain it in simple terms, if you have a Strength of 11 and the dice rolls out 10, you get a total chance of 11. The outcome of this though completely depends on what level check it was. In this case, if it was a 15 level check, you’d end up failing.
Of course, Larian Studios have been considerate enough to spare you the trouble of leaving your fate to chance by providing an option to turn off the Karmic Dice altogether in the main menu.
Sneak in for success
Unless you are a party of 4 strong warriors who can one-hit KO any monster, chances are battles in Baldur’s Gate 3 are going to be quite tough. The best way to gain an advantage over battles is to sneak in when the option is available. The hide bonus action can be used to ambush enemies or maneuver your party into strategic positions of advantage. Characters like Astarion in particular can provide a better chance of executing certain stealth-based moves to take out tougher enemies.
Know your way around a fight
Combat in Baldur’s Gate 3 is a combination of turn-based strategy and movement. Positioning and movement are essential in coming out as the victor in any encounter. Hence, use your melee attackers judiciously. The combat system in Baldur’s Gate 3 has an ‘attack of opportunity’ feature which is associated with attacking enemies in close proximity. It also has a ‘shared initiative’ feature for assists during combat.
In essence, managing your party’s movements is crucial in dealing with the consequence-based combat mechanic. Furthermore, there is an advantage for gaining high ground.
You are defined by the company you keep
Companions are crucial in both having an immersive gameplay and progressing without much trouble in Baldur’s Gate 3. From turn-based combat to real-time actions, there are many aspects of the gameplay that require the aid of various companions. The game has a generous and colorful cast of companions that will keep your journey lively and help out during tough times. Knowledge of your companions and their abilities will also help you while creating your character.
You can have your character specialize in certain aspects and rely on the companions to make up for the rest. That way, levelling up your main traits and skills during early game won’t come at the expense of missing out on other abilities. This also allows you to gain and upgrade these abilities at a later period in the game at your own pace.
Don’t forget what’s bugging you
From the onset of the game’s prologue, you are introduced to the game’s nightmarish Illithid bug that enters your body through your eyes. These tadpoles are ticking timebombs that are designed to turn you into the monstrous mind flayers at some point if left unchecked. Although you may think of this initially, it is easy to lose track of your predicament as you go about solving other quests.
Furthermore, at some point you will start gaining Illithid powers which will allow you to do some amazing stuff. But this apparently comes at price where the parasite gains more power, which could eventually turn against you.
If the Door is blocked, there is always a window
A very desirable element of Baldur’s Gate 3 from what we’ve experienced so far is the core RPG approach of having multiple ways of doing things. This game is somewhat like Photoshop where you can achieve the same result with different techniques and approaches.
One such unique example of that is the use of the items around you. While a box or a trunk may seem like a great way to store stuff, it also serves the more unconventional purpose of serving as a makeshift ladder.
You can stack such items in any order as long as they are stable and find alternate ways to approach certain locations. For example, a locked door can easily be bypassed by using an alternate way, which conveniently enough the game almost always provides. This is actually a realistic element where Baldur’s Gate 3 shines.
Let Shadowheart guide you
There are a great many reasons for you to rescue Shadowheart from her pod on the Nautiloid and add her as a companion at the beach. Among her many abilities is her vast repertoire of spells, which can be quite handy at the trickiest of situations. She is also a great option for a healer build.
But one advantage of having Shadowheart as a companion in early game is her spell ‘Guidance’, which adds 1d4 for ability checks. This spell can be quite handy early in Baldur’s Gate 3 to pass several checks that will make gameplay easier.
