Tips and Tricks: Essential Beginner Guides to New Players

This is a beginner's Guide to Baldur's Gate 3 (BG 3)! Here is everything you need to know before starting the game, tips on creating your character, as well as a combat system guide!

Beginner's Guide: Essential Tips and Tricks

Before You Play Guide

This section aims to explain everything you as the player will need to know as well as provide information that will help players in starting their game to Baldur's Gate 3!

Understand the Game's Basic Terminologies

Dungeons and Dragons is the main game that Baldur's Gate 3 is based on and is a very large game. It contains several terminologies and mechanics that may be foreign even for players that have played several RPGs in the past.

It is highly recommend learning about the game's glossary, checking out all the frequently asked questions, and understanding several mechanics before hopping inside the game!

Glossary and Terminologies

The Game Supports 4 Playable Characters

When starting the game, you will immediately be met by the character creation screen which will provide you with several options such as choosing your own class, race, proficiencies and much more!

However, this is just going to be your main character and the game will allow you to recruit 3 more characters (either origin character or hirelings). Do not try to do everything with one character!

How Many Party Members Can You Have?

You Are Not on a Time Limit

After the opening scenes and several dialogues, you may come under the assumption that your playtime progress is under a time limit. However, this is false! Do not hesitate to take Long Rests when possible as your current playthrough will not be locked behind a hidden time limit. Long Rests will also provide several dialogue options between origin characters you have recruited to your cause and may even provide new insights about them!

How to use Short and Long Rest

Character Creation Tips

Multiclassing is Not Recommended

While Multiclassing can be a cool feature that you can use to make your class more versatile and learn a different plethora of skills, this can also be an easy way to ruin your character. It is highly recommended for beginners to stick to your main chararcter's class and understanding what that class can do with just its base class and subclass before proceeding to attempt in multiclassing your character.

Of course, if you do happen to Multiclass and the results are unsatisfactory, you can respec your character from Withers at the camp and fix your character's progression all over again!

How to Multiclass Guide and Best Class Combinations

You can Pick Origin Characters For a Narrative Focused Plathrough

There are multiple origin characters that you can choose when starting the game in Baldur's Gate 3. These characters are the main characters of the game and you can start as one of them which can bring your full party to 4 origin characters as opposed to having 1 custom charactera and 3 characters. This will allow you to experience more of the game's lore!

List of Origin Characters

Start with Even Ability Scores and A Dump Stat

When building your characters' ability scores, try to aim for an even value for your chosen ability score. This maximizes the ability score modifier you can get from that stat. Also choose a dump stat that you can lessen and abandon to put more stats into other more valuable stat for your character.

What are Ability Scores?

Choose the Dark Urge Path to Experience a New Story

Aside from the main campaign, there's also the Dark Urge campaign which is an entirely new storyline where you play as a character that's on a darker, villanous storyline. The Dark Urge character is also fully customizable, despite the panel from hell showcase using a dragonborn.

The Dark Urge Origin Character Guide

Combat System Guide

Ungroup and Position Your Characters

Whenever a battle will start, it is highly recommended to ungroup your characters from each other. This will allow you to choose a more ideal position for each characters before engaging in a fight. Place your ranged fighters on higher ground for advantage bonuses and place your fighters near the enemy backline to quickly dispatch them during the first turns!

Understand the Difference Between Action and Bonus Actions

During combat, a character can move and take up to 1 action, however some abilities are considered bonus actions and do not count as that turns action. Learning to manage the action economy will help maximize the potential of every turn.

Utilize Terrain Effects

Terrain effects are conditions on a battlefield that you can manipulate to make a battle much easier. Some samples are grease on the ground, explosive barrels, or even just a wet ground. These items can be used against your party members but the same can be applied to enemies. Learn how to use the effects of interactables and terrains on the map to make battles much easier!

Story Progression and World Exploration

Track Quests Using the Journal

The Journal is the easiest way to check what your current goal (as well as your companions and other NPCs in the game) are. Be sure to use the Journal to track specific questlines you may encounter in the game. The Journal will also reflect the outcome of your decisions and is highly flexible based on the actions you do while pursuing said quests.

There Are Multiple Ways to Accomplish Everything

You require to enter a dungeon? Perhaps lockpicking that door may provide you entry. Or perhaps you can just blast that brittle floor on the higher parts of the ruins and jump in, or maybe persuade some bandits to let you in to their hideout. There are multiple ways to accomplish events in the game and do not focus on just one possible way to accomplish events.

Always Carry Lockpicks, Thieves Tool, and Even Shovels

There will be multiple locks and other obstacles you can find in-game. Having the necessary tools to attempt to solve these puzzles or interactables will be key to maximizing the amount of items and loots you can obtain while progressing the game.

List of All Tools

Torches are Vital in Dark Places

Unless you have a character with Dark Vision, progressing in a dark place will be extremely difficult without a light source. Torches are weapons based on their description but another feature of torches is that they can be lit to provide illumination to the party. Be prepared with torches at all time to avoid scenarios such as fighting in the dark.

Torch Guide

Watch Your Perception Checks

While roaming the map, you may suddenly notice a perception check appear on your characters. This means that your character have approached an interactable and has rolled for a perception check. Succeeding may reveal traps, new paths, or even dirt mounts you can dig up for loots!

All Beginner Guides

Baldur's Gate 3 Related Guides

Baldur's Gate 3 Top Page

List of Categories
Main Campaign	Beginner Guides
Classes	Character Creation
Legendaries	Weapons
Armor	Accessories
Items	Actions
Spells	Illithid Powers
Origin Characters	Maps
News	Bosses