In this guide we will reveal many tricks and useful tips to understand how to best play Baldur’s Gate 3, the classic RPG by Larian Studios
After a long period of Early Access finally Baldur’s Gate 3 is available in version 1.0! From the official launch to today, there has been no talk of anything other than this great title and this has led even less accustomed players to this type of RPG to take an interest in Larian’s work. To help novices of the genre we have therefore decided to write this guide, where you can find many tips and tricks useful in understanding how to best play Baldur’s Gate 3.
Nothing perfect PG – Baldur’s Gate 3: tips and tricks to understand how to play
During character creation it goes without saying that most players will try to create a PG as efficient as possible, but keep in mind that this is only a choice and not an obligation. Obviously, for example, creating a gnome thief you will have many advantages given by a good class-race combination, but this is not the only way to play.
In the end interacting with the game world and with other characters is certainly the most important aspect of Baldur’s Gate 3, and this doesn’t require using a perfect character at all. Certainly a barbarian elf could have some difficulty in more advanced fights, but at the same time it could open the doors to you new dialogue options very interesting.
Use quicksave – Baldur’s Gate 3: tips and tricks to understand how to play
In Baldur’s Gate 3 practically everything is determined by roll of a dice and this can lead to a large number of unexpected surprises. To avoid finding yourself in unpleasant situations, we therefore advise you to use the quick save as often as possible. Luckily by simply pressing the “F5” you can easily create a freely reloadable save by pressing “F8“.
We advise you to use this feature practically before each dialogue, so you can try again in case something goes wrong. However, if you are interested in doing an honest playthrough without any manipulation of the game, then you are perfectly free to ignore our advice.
Always pressing ALT – Baldur’s Gate 3: tips and tricks to understand how to play
In Baldur’s Gate 3 you can interact with just about anything and, as fun as it is, this carries the risk of not noticing something useful. Luckily Larian has thought of a very practical solution, given that by holding down “ALT” you can comfortably highlight the most important objects nearby.
In this way you will be able to immediately notice the position of potions, documents, chests and so on, but not only. Highlighting objects this way indeed you will also be able to understand if you are free to interact with it or not. If an object name comes highlighted in red in fact, it will mean that, if you try to collect it or use it, the locals could react badly.
Take merchandise – Baldur’s Gate 3: tips and tricks to understand how to play
Right-clicking on an item before picking it up gives you the option to add it to your wares. By doing so the object will be marked as useless and later you can sell it quickly from the first merchant you come across.
This is very convenient when you come across potentially valuable but useless items, such as silver trays or precious stones. Just remember not to just pick up every single thing you find, as you risk to gaining too much weight and suffer movement speed penalties.
Use a lot of magic – Baldur’s Gate 3: tips and tricks to understand how to play
If you use a PG with magical abilities you will certainly often use your spells to get the better of enemies in combat, but obviously this is not the only way to use them. Indeed they exist so many spells that boast great utility even outside of battles.
For example, you can use illusions to distract NPCs and sneak up behind them, or you can harness the power of talk to animals to get new useful information. These are just a few examples and if you take full advantage of your powers we are sure you will find many other very interesting interactions.
Rest Often – Baldur’s Gate 3: tips and tricks to understand how to play
In the previous paragraph we told you to use spells and other similar skills as often as possible even outside of combat, but unfortunately this it is not always possible. Most of the most useful skills in fact have gods limited uses that do not allow you to abuse them. For example some spells have one use for each short restwhile others require a long rest to be launched again.
To avoid running out of skills in times of need we therefore advise you to rest whenever you get the chance. Using the long rest will also allow you to have some unique interactions with your party members and for this reason we suggest you do it very often, even when you don’t actually need it.
Use the other PCs – Baldur’s Gate 3 tips and tricks to understand how to play
Of course it is natural that most of the time players tend to use their own character as party leader, but you must never forget that you have a large number of allies to count on. In fact, selecting another PG with characteristics different from yours could simplify many actionssuch as picking locks, solving puzzles, or interacting with magical items.
We also suggest you often use your allies also to dialogue with NPCs. Based on their race, class, and background, your companions may have some extra dialogue options able to help you get what you want more easily.
Use inspiration – Baldur’s Gate 3 tips and tricks to understand how to play
When you perform actions in line with your PC’s background you will get points inspiration. These points are very useful, as you can spend them on retry a failed dice roll without suffering any repercussions. Both your protagonist and your allies are able to gain inspiration and in total each of you cannot accumulate more than four points at a timeso don’t be afraid to spend it when the need arises.
Do the free actions – Baldur’s Gate 3: tips and tricks to understand how to play
During fights, in addition to movement and normal attack actions, it is always possible to perform at least an extra free action of some kind. Some classes have very powerful specific free actions available, but even if you only have the basic ones, however, we suggest that you try to use them whenever you can.
Pushing an enemy or dipping your weapon in some substance might sometimes get you nowhere but, since you have nothing to loseit’s always best to do this in case it proves useful later.
Make use of the environment – Baldur’s Gate 3: tips and tricks to understand how to play
Fighting enemies head-on is always very rewarding, but sometimes you might get better results using the environment to your advantage. In fact, in practically every area of Baldur’s Gate 3 there are holes in which to push opponents, suspended candelabras to drop on enemies, explosive barrels to set on fire and many others items that can really help you a lot.
Furthermore, with the right character and in the right situation, even seemingly useless objects such as chairs or corpses can transform into exceptional improvised weapons.
Use turns – Baldur’s Gate 3: tips and tricks to understand how to play
Outside of combat both your party and the various NPCs will move freely, but at will you can activate the turn-based mode at any time. This way you will have the opportunity to act more precisely and perfectly plan actions such as thefts or assassinations. To enter shift mode, just press the big button at the bottom right of your skill bar or press “shift+space”.
Position yourself well – Baldur’s Gate 3: tips and tricks to understand how to play
An aspect not to be underestimated during the fights is obviously the placement. Besides the obvious place mages and archers in elevated points, there are many other tricks that can simplify the clashes.
For example, you can place your strongest characters in spots where enemies are forced to pass, so that they have the opportunity to perform attacks of opportunity on them. Also if you have movement points available after an attack and you are not threatened by anyone it is always wise move your PC behind a column or some other objectso that enemies further away lose sight of them.
Act in the shadows – Baldur’s Gate 3: tips and tricks to understand how to play
Whether you’re trying to steal something or you’re in the middle of a fight, check out the field of view of NPCs is always a good thing. Holding down “shift” while you are in battle or in turn-based mode you can in fact highlight all areas that other characters are able to see. In this way you will be able to plan your stealth actions more comfortably and you will also be able to know how far some attacks can hit you.
Concentrate – Baldur’s Gate 3: tips and tricks to understand how to play
Among the many spells in the game there are some that require to be cast concentration. This means that for the duration of the spell your wizard will have to stay focused and this also brings a series of limitations. For example as long as you are concentrating on a spell you won’t be able to cast another that requires concentration without canceling the previous one and, in case you are attacked, you will have to overcome a saving throw to maintain concentration.
Given the effort required to use concentration spells, we suggest that you don’t choose too many spells of this type when preparing your wizards’ spells. Also, in case you feel the need, once you reach level 5 we suggest you unlock the talent battle mage to have a better chance of maintaining concentration in case you take damage.
Exploit Items – Baldur’s Gate 3: tips and tricks to understand how to play
During your raids you will surely come into possession of a myriad of objects useful for combat. For example, you might get potions, enchanted scrolls, thrown weapons, poisons, and so on.
These items can offer you great advantages during battles but, since you will truly collect an infinite number of them, you may risk forgetting to use them. To limit this risk we advise you to put all the most useful items in the top positions of your item bar, so that you always remember it during battles.
