The long-awaited Baldur’s Gate 3 is finally here: after nearly three years of public testing in early access and about six years of overall development. However, it is important to understand that the new product is a complex and deep role-playing game, where there are hundreds of ways to interact with the world.
We’ve put together some tips for new players that should help them get started with Baldur’s Gate 3 .
Save constantly
In Baldur’s Gate 3, you can die from anything – especially at the beginning of the game, when you don’t understand what’s going on and are just trying to figure out what kind of game you’re playing. That’s why it’s best to save constantly, almost every minute, so that you can always step away and return at a more favorable time.
One of the features of BG3 is its openness. You can go through many moments in dozens of ways, somewhere in a dialogue you can deceive or charm, somewhere in an open fight, somewhere you can throw a statue on your enemies (and sometimes on yourself, because the virtual dice went against the player), somewhere you can spill oil and set it on fire (accidentally burning half of your heroes) – and so on. It is better to constantly experiment, but have a chance to come back, than to regret your decisions or destroy everyone, losing several hours of gameplay.
Don’t try to understand everything at once
If you’re not familiar with Dungeons & Dragons at all, don’t try to dive right in and try to understand everything. The balance of power, what’s going on in the world, the races and their backstories, all the gameplay features. Take Baldur’s Gate 3 easier – yes, it’s part of a huge brand, but that won’t do you any good. Quite the opposite, actually.
Keep an eye on your teammates
There will always be a few more characters under your control – don’t run away, but try to stay close enough to each other. You can get separated either by accident (the heroes could just be left somewhere behind, and you didn’t notice) or on purpose.
Sometimes it’s really important to split up, because some heroes have unique abilities that can help overcome obstacles in some creative way. In such moments, it’s worth being careful to leave the rest of the characters alone, so that they don’t accidentally run into trouble.
Experiment constantly
Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t just allow for creative ways to accomplish objectives, it encourages it as much as possible. If you can come up with an unusual solution to a problem, be it a fight or an infiltration, there’s a good chance it can actually be done – by all means, try everything.
The same applies to classes and leveling up – try something new, because even if you make a bad choice, you can always redistribute your skills for a modest fee.
Search for “Inspiration”
A very important stat in Baldur’s Gate 3 is “Inspiration” (not to be confused with “Approval”). It allows you to re-roll a virtual die when you fail a skill check. You can increase “Inspiration” when the main character does something (in dialogue or action) that somehow touches on the faith or past of allies.
For example, the street kids are inspired when you stand up for the poor and oppressed, while the nobles are content with arrogant and snobbish elections.
Chat with companions
Try to communicate with your allies more often – both while traveling around the world and in your own camp. Heroes can reveal unexpected sides and tell you something interesting – all this will help during the passage of BG3. Before going to bed in the camp, be sure to talk to your friends, this will also help to avoid situations where your actions may go against the faith of your companions.
Be aware of your surroundings
The creators of Baldur’s Gate 3 have mastered the art of gameplay interaction with the world: always pay attention to the environment. An enemy standing on a ledge? Throw him down. A group of enemies standing nearby? Douse them with water or oil, then strike them with lightning or set them on fire. Take chairs, furniture and stones – they can also be used to your advantage. Build barricades, throw, trick.
Charisma is mightier than the sword
The protagonist’s long tongue can not only open new paths, but also avoid many troubles. With a high level of charisma or charm, players can convince opponents not to bare their scabbards and part ways peacefully.
Other tips
- Read the descriptions of skills and spells to avoid accidentally finding yourself in an awkward situation.
- Keep an eye on the status effects of both your heroes and your opponents, this can help significantly change the situation in battle.
- Take absolutely everything you find – and constantly look for corpses and chests.
- In battles, plan more often how to deal damage to several enemies at once – to do this, use cunning, spells, deceptions, so that enemies often stand close to each other.