Guide for Baldur's Gate 3: tips for beginners and the basics of the game

met travelers, united by the common problem of having an illithid larva in your head, and follow your own path of exploring the universe. Choose the side of darkness or light, explore many different locations and find yourself embroiled in stories of survival, friendship and betrayal to reach Baldur's Gate.

In addition to the usual RPG mechanics, Baldur's Gate 3 is based on the 5th edition of D&D, and therefore can cause difficulties for players unfamiliar with this system. In the article we will tell you everything about the creation of the hero, the exploration of the world, the combat system, companions, the features of spells and equipment. This guide is aimed at helping beginners, contains tips and a detailed guide to Baldur's Gate 3.

How dice work and what they affect in Baldur's Gate 3

In BG 3, the main game mechanic borrowed from DnD is dice roll for 20 edges. The final number on the D20 die affects success almost all game actions: the result in a conversation, hitting an enemy with a weapon, breaking doors. Often, it depends on this number whether the character will remain alive or die.

In addition to random, for the final amount affected by fixed values from characteristics, skills and modifiers. The harder the roll, the higher the number required to succeed. In case of an advantage, 2 dice appear on the field at once.

If necessary, the dice can be rerolled, spending rare points inspirationreceived for certain achievements. A maximum of 4 units of inspiration can be stored.

Choose an original character or plot?

When starting a new game, two options are available - creating a completely original character or choosing one of the story characters that can later be found in the world and chosen as companions. When playing the game for the first time, especially for beginners, it is recommended to create your own character, making it exactly the way you want.

How to create an original character

Creating an original character includes appearance and some basic traits that determine future abilities.

Biography (origin)

The biography will acquaint you with the past of the hero, while creating the original - with the history of the character Tav, whose name can be changed. Selected origin will give the hero a couple of skills and open up some options for actions or answers in dialogues. The success of the latter will be determined by a d20 die roll, but the acquired skill will increase its number and increase the chances of success.

Origin skills cannot be changed, unlike class skills. We advise first choose a race and character class, and then return to this point and supplement the hero with a suitable story. For example, the Trickster class has many skills, among which are Deception and Stealth, similar to the Outlaw origin. You can choose it and take other skills for the class, or you can leave them and play from the origin of the Folk Hero with the rare Training skill.

Race

Race affects the appearance and gives the hero features, among which may be: increased vision in the dark, resistance to damage type, possession of a specific weapon, and so on. In many ways, the reaction of the heroes inhabiting the world also depends on the race. For example, Drow will get more options when interacting with each other or interacting with Goblins who respect them.

Race speed - how far a character can move in combat, tied to height. Every race has subrace, which also affects relationships and grants certain traits, foci, abilities, or bonuses on checks.

You can learn more about each of the races in the relevant article.

Class

Class mainly affects the combat abilities of the character: attack range, type of armor and weapons, available spells and actions. Depending on it, you can choose additional skills from a specific set. For example, the Trickster will have the ability to stealth, and the wizard - to magic.

At certain stages of development, one of the subclasses, allowing him to specialize in a more specific direction: the Wizard chooses the sources of his power, the Priest - from different types of domains, and the Rogue - between murders, thefts and magic.

Read more about each in separate articles. best builds.

Skills

Character skills in Baldur's Gate 3 depend on race, class, and background. They reflect his capabilities in everyday life. For example, training affects relationships with animals, and mindfulness will help you see the hidden. Skills with proficiency grant a bonus on ability checks:

Force: athletics.
Agility: acrobatics, sleight of hand, stealth.
IntelligenceKeywords: history, magic, nature, investigation, religion.
WisdomKeywords: attention, survival, training, medicine, insight.
Charisma: intimidation, deceit, persuasion, execution.

You can read more about classes in the class manual. about the influence of skills.

Abilities

Abilities are the main attributes of creatures that affect the assessment of certain skills:

Force: melee weapon damage, durability checks, lift, knockback range, carry weight, heavy armor.
Agility: ranged and fencing damage, initiative, chance to dodge, stealth and handcraft, light and medium armor.
Endurance: amount of health, disease checks.
Intelligence: analytics, knowledge, source of magic for the Wizard, subclass of the Warrior and Rogue.
Wisdom: nature, survival, insight, source of magic for Priest, Druid, Ranger and Monk.
Charisma: social skills, persuasiveness, source of magic for Bard, Wizard, Sorcerer, Paladin.

Skill saving throws scale with ability scores. That is, with high wisdom there will be a greater chance of triggering attention.

The numerical value of the ability affects the dice roll modifier:

1-9 takes away 5-1.
10-11 is 0.
12-30 adds 1-10.

When investing points in abilities, it is usually more profitable to keep even numbers, because the odd ones won't do anything. Exceptions are the strength parameter, the presence of buffs to create even numbers, the receipt of debuffs. For the first time, you can add 2 points to the characteristics at the 2nd level of the character. At lvl 4, instead of increasing the characteristics, it may be more profitable to choose hell (various bonuses), so plan the distribution of parameters in advance. The ability requirement to create a multiclass has been removed.

Who attracts you? Who are you dreaming about?

In a separate window, there is a choice of a character who will appear to the main character in dreams and gradually unfold in the story. Its customizable options only affect appearance, so create traits however you see fit. It is not necessary to use illithid powers in conversation to meet a creature in dreams, but it can lead to different outcomes.

Companions

In the process of exploring the world, certain travelers will meet, who can be called to the camp and added to the squad. Up to three can be in a group at the same time. companions.

Depending on the decisions of the protagonist, OK partners to him will increase or decrease, which affects their attitude. After some elections or with low approval, companions may leave the squad.

With a good relationship, the main character can have an affair with a plot partner. Companions cannot enter into a relationship with each other, as well as characters from the co-op.

satellites can kill or they may die on their own. If this happened in battle or in the camp, then if there is a corpse, you can use a resurrection scroll or ask to revive an ally from the Withered for a fee.

Read in separate guides how to have romantic relationships with companions.

Squad management

The squad consists of several characters, among which there may be players from multiplayer or companions. To call an NPC, there must be an empty seat in the group, after which you need to find a companion in the camp and invite him to .

Apply group mode ("G") so that the heroes follow the main character or one by one. You can use this to send mages into position before the fight until the other character has finished the dialogue.

If the conversation was started by a non-charismatic hero, then in some cases you can exit the dialogue and resend the desired character. In co-op, players are able to try to influence the conversation by voting. Multiplayer allows you to start private dialogues to keep them secret from your comrades.

Single player and co-op in BG3

Baldur's Gate 3 can be played alone or with up to four people.

When creating a single player game in a group to explore the world, there can be only one original character, the rest of the slots will be occupied by companions.
Unlike Divinity, in Baldur's Gate 3 there is no lone wolf skill, so ing in 1-2 heroes instead of 3-4 will be many times more difficult, which is why sooner or later you will have to supplement the company with plot partners.
In the cooperative mode, everyone can create an original character, so there is an opportunity to go through the story with completely self-created heroes.

Read in a separate guide how to make a multiplayer game.

World exploration

Let's highlight the main points of the study of the world of the Forgotten Kingdoms.

Movement

To move around the world, in addition to normal walking, you will have to use:

Bounce - will help to avoid dangerous zones, to get over an obstacle.
Stealth – useful for purposes of being undetected or for theft. It is affected by the illumination of the place, the attentiveness of the enemy and heavy armor (with the exception of mithril). There is a separate group stealth mode.
Flight - will allow you to get to where you can’t jump, for example, on a high tower.

Interaction with objects

Items can be inspected, moved to the sides and on top of each other, taken into inventory. Be careful about destroying locked chests, because then their contents may be lost.

Hiking mode

The combination "Shift+Space» or clicking on the hourglass icon turns on the turn-by-turn mode. Use it to get past active traps or keep enemies out of sight while moving stealthily.

Hacking and theft

Heroes with pumped dexterity are able to break open chests, steal items directly or from characters. The former requires thieves' tools, while the latter requires staying out of sight.

Story and side quests

As you explore the Forgotten Realms, various quests appear in the Quest Journal: main, side, or companion quests. Marks on the map will help you figure out where to go, and completing missions will give the characters experience points to level up.

The map

The game map will help you navigate the terrain, see the location of positive or hostile heroes, quest points, find squad , or use the Rune Circle teleporter.

To find out the location of all enemies, characters, items and all secrets, you can use interactive map.

Inventory and equipment

Keys "I" or "N» opens character card – an inventory window with information about his skills, characteristics, equipment and items.

Below is the maximum carrying weight, it depends on the power factor.
To the left of the item search bar is a button them sorting by novelty, price, weight and type.
Use the found wallets and other containers in order to remove keys, potions and so on in them.
By right-clicking on an item, it can be sent to the camp and later found in a public chest.
Armor lowers the chance to take damage, but does not reduce it. AB (armor class) is increased by wearing it or shields. Everything else gives you stat boosts or teaches you spells.
Damage weapons depends on the die roll, where values of 1 and 20 correspond to a critical miss and a hit. The weapon in the second hand has less damage, since it does not have a modifier from the ability.
For a good game musical instruments requires a skill that the bard knows, but other subclasses can learn it.

Magic in Baldur's Gate 3: spells and tricks

Almost all classes use magical powers, divided into focuses and spells. Focuses can be used without restriction, but they are usually weak. Spells are stronger and consume spell slots instead of mana. Let's go over the important points:

Spell Slots can be restored if you take a long halt, but in some cases a short rest or a bard skill will do.
Spells are divided into circles, indicating their level and power. Rare ones are equally effective on all circles, for example, magic armor.
Long spells can be canceled by clicking on the cross on the icon of the character who created it.
Some spells require training - prearrangement from the spell book into slots for use.
Can be used without knowledge of magic scrolls, which consume action points and disappear after use.
Some skills require concentration, which can be knocked down by damage or control against the creature casting the spell. Only one such spell can be used at a time.
Wizards use spell points to wield metamagic, but their wild magic can get out of hand.
Wizards have magic recovery charges that refresh their spell slots.
Sorcerers able to restore spell slots with a short rest.
When leveling up, characters can choose substitute one old spell to a new one.

Halt

Short halt can be cast twice before the end of the day to partially restore the party's health and sorcerer spell slots. long rest ends the game day and moves the team to the camp. It takes 40 supplies to fully restore health and spell slots, otherwise only half will be updated and the short rest counter will not reset. During a long rest, it is important to talk with companions so as not to miss important dialogues.

Combat system in Baldur's Gate 3

The combat system in BG3 is based on turn-based combat, where positioning and dice rolls play a big role. The order of moves depends on the initiative.

Main and bonus action

All activity in battle:

With jump you can get to higher ground or avoid getting into dangerous areas like burning ones.
One can dip weapon to the surface.
If competently hide, then you can get rid of the attention of enemies.
ability push away you can push the creature off the cliff, but lose the loot (range depends on strength and weight). Removes the threat of an attack of opportunity or interference.
One can throw an item from the inventory or the environment - throw healing potions at allies on death.
As the improvised melee weapons even a creature can be used.
Jerk will allow you to go further.
Help to an ally when dying, burning, flat, asleep, or trapped can turn the tide of combat.
Retreat will not provoke unscheduled attacks.
The use of weapons, spells, scrolls spends action points.

Bonus Actions: Use of potions, some spells and class abilities, second hand attack.

ive abilities

There are only two ive abilities:

Extraordinary attacks Provoke to strike an enemy in combat when they are within striking distance and are trying to get away.
Non-lethal attacks allow you to talk with the enemy after the battle.

Interference and the ruling height rule

Different weapons are effective at different ranges. Advantages and disadvantages are important for the success of the strike, depending on the height, stealth, distance and condition. For example, it is more profitable for an archer to attack from afar and from a height of an illuminated target, and it is better to change a set of weapons close up.

Retreat

In a difficult situation in battle, you can retreat and return to the camp if you run away from enemies for a long distance.

Crafting system

BG3 implements an alchemy system that includes only three things: collecting materials, automatically extracting them, and crafting items.

Collect plants, stones and other resources around the world, and then click on "extract all ingredients" in the alchemy window. New recipes will be added automatically. When you want to craft a potion, just look for it in the list.

Other Baldur's Gate 3 Beginner Tips

In addition to the basic mechanics, it is important to know some game subtleties.

Mindfulness

In the group, a character with a high attentionto notice hidden ages, switches, traps and valuable treasures. Also, search everything you see, but don't forget about traps.

Doors and chests

Some chests and doors, instead of being hacked, can simply be broken. However, in this case, the contents of the treasures will be lost. If you couldn't open it, then take the chest with you.

Surfaces

Do not forget about the interaction of surfaces and elements: fire is removed by water, oil is set on fire, and blood can be frozen, melted and then electrified.

Start and fight

Get the advantage before the fight by starting it yourself, after which the enemy will be taken by surprise and miss the turn. In the battle and before it, take advantageous positions, for example, on rooftops or boxes.

Dialogues with animals and the dead

Conversations with animals can not only be interesting, but also beneficial. You can fully understand their speech with a spell "Talk to Animals", available to forest gnomes, druids, rangers (from level 2), bards and sorcerers (when learning Animal Speech in otherworldly invocations). Among the skills, "Training" is useful, especially if there is no ability to understand animals.

Similarly, with the help of a special spell "Conversation with the Dead" you can talk to some corpses. For example, it can be learned by wearing "Amulet of Lost Voices", hidden in the Abandoned Ruins at the beginning of Act 1 of the game in the crypt from which the Withered One will spawn.

Social Spells

On checks or right before important dialogues, don't forget to use social spells, as they can be decisive. The most accessible example is the Guidance focus, which is wielded by Shadowheart.

Trading

In trading, you can use an exchange to:

Improve the attitude of the seller and get a discount if you give him items for free;

Try to bargain, which can lead to a worse relationship.

Learning Enemies, Actions and Spells

In addition to reconnaissance before the battle, inspect the opponents (use the right mouse button) to find out their condition, features and skills. Resistance information is only available after a hit, but can be guessed from the creature's appearance.

If you press "T» on an action or spell, you can learn useful details, such as whether Shock Touch is more effective against creatures in metal armor, or what exactly stealth depends on.

Save and Load

Frequent saves can save precious time, especially since they can be done right in battle. However, don't overuse s, especially early in the game in order to try to roll a successful conversation die with the first boar. Do not be afraid to make mistakes, because the game has a huge variability of events.

Baldur's Gate 3 Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ]

How to level up a character in Baldur's Gate 3?

To gain experience, complete tasks, explore locations and kill creatures.

How to get gold in Baldur's Gate 3?

Bargain, search boxes, vases, corpses and chests, look for treasures, use theft.

How to return the camera snap to the character in Baldur's Gate 3?

Double click on the icon of the desired hero or click "Home".

Is it possible to change race, class and origin in Baldur's Gate 3?

During the game, you can only change the class or temporarily change the race using the Shape Change spell.

What does trial against death mean in Baldur's Gate 3?

The die is rolled until the hero dies or remains in the near-death state.

How to resurrect a character in Baldur's Gate 3?

Use the scroll of resurrection or pay the Withered in the camp 200 gold for each hero.

Where to find a shovel in Baldur's Gate 3?

Randomly in a crate or buy from a merchant.

How to disable helmet display in Baldur's Gate 3?

In the inventory, click on the cross next to the helmet icon, you can also hide the musical instrument.

We hope our guide to Baldur's Gate 3 helped you understand the basic game mechanics. Write to commentsIf you have any questions, the author will try to help. Follow Baldur's Gate 3 section, on our website.