Five ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ tips you should know before playing
Baldur’s Gate 3 is an intimidating game to dive into – especially if you’re going in blind. One of the biggest role-playing games (RPGs) in years, Larian Studios‘ latest title is packed with sticky situations to talk, sneak or fight your way through.
While it’s best to go into Baldur’s Gate 3 knowing as little as possible, there are some tidbits of knowledge that the game doesn’t tell you – and some of them are crucial for getting through the Forgotten Realms alive. While certain things are as simple as keeping your party in shape, others can bring an abrupt end to certain storylines if you’re not careful.
To avoid this and ensure your adventures run smoothly, here are five spoiler-free tips we wish we’d known before playing Baldur’s Gate 3.
Don’t be put off by Act One’s tough combat
Despite being filled with relatively weak enemies, Act One of Baldur’s Gate 3 contains some of the game’s toughest fights. Because your party are still low-levelled and fairly fragile, making a mistake in battle can be extra punishing as your characters die in just a few hits. You’re also still getting to grips with your party’s dynamics, which means you won’t always know the best solutions in battle – especially for first-time players who are still learning how combat in the game works.
If you’re struggling, good news: the more you fight in Baldur’s Gate 3, the simpler it becomes. There’s no shortage of tough encounters, but they’re less likely to wipe your party in a matter of seconds. Though, if you’re still struggling…
The environment is your friend
Baldurs Gate 3‘s dice-based combat system means even the best-laid plans can fall apart with a single bad roll. When that happens, using the environment to your advantage is key to coming out on top. Keep an eye out for chasms in your adventures – pushing an enemy down these will kill them instantly, though sending them tumbling off a ledge will still deal serious damage if it’s from a great enough height.
Additionally, use the right party members for the job. A Barbarian or Fighter has more chance of succeeding in a strength-based roll to shove someone, while magic wielders can use fire-based spells to ignite oil and blow up kegs of Smokepowder. Use every advantage you can find on the battlefield – because if you don’t, your enemies will.
Don’t hoard Inspiration
If you’ve spent much time in Baldurs Gate 3‘s dialogue systems, you may have noticed an Inspiration bar pop up after certain conversations. One of the strongest tools in Baldur’s Gate 3, Inspiration lets party members reroll any failed dice roll – giving them another chance to have things go their way.
Though Inspiration can be a legitimate game-saver, it’s not as rare as you would expect. Completing tasks that match your character’s chosen background keeps a steady stream flooding in, and all party members get their own Inspiration for doing things that fit their own backgrounds. As a result, it’s worth hanging onto one emergency re-roll for key story moments, but don’t be afraid to use the rest for any rolls you wish you’d landed – otherwise you’ll reach the credits with heaps of them left over.
Be careful with long rests
For regaining spell slots and healing after a hard day’s adventuring, long rests are vital. But be careful: if you’re juggling any time-sensitive quests, they’re likely to fail if you call it a night. If an NPC says they’re about to lead a raid, take them seriously and don’t head for a nap – otherwise you could wake up having missed the whole thing, potentially causing deaths you were hoping to avoid.
Speaking to IGN, Larian Studios put it best. “It’s not about how many long rests you take. but when you choose to take a long rest can have an effect,” said the developer. “For instance, if you enter a town and see an inn on fire and you immediately decide to go to bed, that may have consequences.” Consider yourself warned!
Balance your party
Saving the Forgotten Realms is a tough gig, but you don’t have to shoulder the burden alone. Exploring the world with a party of four makes everything significantly easier, and when they all bring their own strengths to the table, that goes double.
When choosing who you’ll venture out with, consider your party’s wider dynamic. A Rogue, Warlock, and two Wizards may deal wild amounts of damage, but they’ll also fold like paper as soon as they take any damage. Likewise, four Wizards may not be able to get much out of a conversation about nature, but your resident Druid is likely to glean all sorts of information out of it. In and out of combat, try to run with a well-rounded party – and if you can’t find a line-up that works, feel free to play around until one works.
If you need more help with Baldur’s Gate 3, here’s our guide on which class you should play first.
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Andy Brown
NME
