Baldur's Gate 3 Beginner's Guide: Essential Tips & Tricks

Starting your journey in the vast and intricate world of Baldur's Gate III can be overwhelming, especially if you're new to the game. These essential tips and tricks will help you navigate the early stages of your adventure.

Baldur's Gate 3 Beginner's Guide: Essential Tips & Tricks
Larian Studios

Embark on an epic journey through the rich and intricate world of Baldur's Gate III, a game that seamlessly blends the depth of traditional Dungeons & Dragons with the immersive storytelling of a video game. Whether you're a newcomer to the Baldur's Gate series or a seasoned adventurer, this comprehensive guide is your essential companion for mastering the game's mechanics, uncovering hidden secrets, and emerging victorious in the face of formidable challenges.

Baldur's Gate III offers a vast and ever-evolving landscape to explore, filled with intriguing characters, treacherous foes, and morally complex decisions. To navigate this world successfully, you'll need a strong foundation of knowledge and strategies, and that's precisely what this guide provides.

General Tips and Tricks

  • Frequent Saving: Baldur's Gate III doesn't auto-save often, so make it a habit to save your progress regularly. You never know when a critical decision or unexpected event might occur.

  • Tooltips: Pay attention to tooltips that appear below the minimap. They provide valuable information, especially when you encounter new game mechanics or features like jumping.

  • Rest Mechanics: Utilize Short Rests and Long Rests at your campsite to recover health and spell slots. Managing your rest is crucial for your survival.

Baldur's Gate 3 Party sleeping in camp
Larian Studios
  • Darkvision: When exploring dark areas, rely on companions or party members with Darkvision for better visibility. If you lack Darkvision, equip a torch to light up your surroundings.

  • Karmic Dice: If you find dice rolls inconsistent, check the Karmic Dice setting in the game options and toggle it on or off to suit your preference.

  • Traps: Even if you can't disarm a trap, you can trigger it from a distance by shooting it.

  • Fast Travel: Activate waypoints to travel conveniently between locations. You can also fast travel by opening the map, except when underground or in certain restricted areas.

  • Trading: Some characters may have a trade button, even if they don't have a dialogue option for trading. Additionally, you can try to steal back items you've sold to a trader through pickpocketing.

Baldur's gate 3 trade button in dialogue

  • Loot Visibility: Hold the Alt key to make all lootable bodies visible nearby. This also works for revealing certain items. Press the ~ key to highlight characters through walls and doors, with party members in blue, neutral NPCs in yellow, and hostile NPCs in red.

  • Learning Spells: Certain classes, like wizards and warlocks, can learn spells for a fee. Right-click a scroll in the character's inventory to check if you can learn a spell and its cost.

  • Exploration: Look for jumpable gaps in the environment. Baldur's Gate III allows for extensive jumping, potentially leading to hidden secrets.

  • Minimap: The minimap in the top-right corner includes a marker indicating the north direction.

  • Dialogue Skipping: Press the Spacebar to skip through dialogue quickly if you're in a hurry or replaying content.

  • Narrow Passages: Medium-sized characters might struggle to squeeze through tight spaces. You can use spells like Disguise Self to transform into a smaller creature or employ other methods like Enlarge/Reduce and Wild Shape.

Entering small holes in Baldur's gate 3
Larian Studios
  • Ability Scores: When building or respeccing your character, round off ability scores to even numbers. Odd-numbered scores don't provide bonuses, and increasing ability modifiers requires two points per score. Some Feats earned at later levels offer a single point to round off scores.

  • Inventory Management: Clicking the equipment slot reveals a list of all available equipment for that character's slot, simplifying inventory management.

  • Save Scumming: If you fail an ability check during dialogue or when attempting to pick a lock, you can "save scum" by saving before the check and reloading if the outcome is unfavorable.

  • Vendor Transactions: To sell multiple items to a vendor at once, select items using Left Shift for adjacent items or Left Ctrl for individual selections. Right-click and choose 'Add to Wares' before engaging in trade. Similarly, you can use this method to manage your inventory by selecting 'Send to Camp,' sending items to your Traveller's Chest at the campsite.

  • Infinite Carry Weight: You essentially have infinite carry weight because you can right-click any item and select 'Send to Camp,' transferring it to your Traveller's Chest. This even works for locked or enchanted chests.

  • Camp Teleport: You can teleport back to camp at any time outside of combat, regardless of resting. This allows you to retrieve items and return to the world quickly.

Baldur's gate 3 go to camp button
Larian Studios
  • Resource Management: Be conservative with your resources. Baldur's Gate III has a different resource system, with limited spells between rests and finite HP recovery. Use cantrips for spellcasters and conserve HP when possible.

  • Turn-Based Mode: Press the Spacebar to activate turn-based mode outside of combat. This can help you interact with fast-moving targets or prepare for traps.

  • Environmental Interaction: Explore your surroundings for opportunities. Some environmental elements, like stalactites or wooden stockades, can be used strategically.

  • Shovel: Always keep a shovel in your inventory to dig up treasure from mounds of dirt you encounter.

  • Group Hide: Use Group Hide to keep your entire party in stealth mode. On a keyboard, find the button on the bottom left of the screen or use Shift+C, while on a controller, hold down on the d-pad.

  • Talking to Animals and Corpses: Classes like bards, druids, and rangers can cast Speak with Animals. Additionally, you can find The Amulet of Lost Voices to cast Speak with Dead. These abilities allow you to gather information from animals and corpses.

Speak to Animals Baldur's gate 3
Larian Studios
  • Vendor Interactions: Be cautious of your actions in front of vendors or store owners, as they can react to crimes you commit and charge you more for items.

  • Party Conversations: Pay attention to your party's conversations as you travel, as they can provide insights into the lore of the area and relevant deities and cultures.

  • Origin Characters: Be mindful of your interactions with Origin characters, as upsetting them could lead to them leaving your party or even attacking you.

These tips and tricks should provide you with a solid foundation to embark on your adventure in Baldur's Gate III. Explore, strategize, and enjoy your journey through this immersive and challenging world.