Extremely important Baldur’s Gate 3 tips that the game never tells you

26.12.2023 - 17:01 / polygon.com

Now that I’m over 150 hours into Baldur’s Gate 3, still actively playing it on my Steam Deck or PC almost every single evening, you’d never guess that I initially gave up on the game 10 hours in. Yes, I was playing on the easiest setting. Yes, I have played Dungeons & Dragons multiple times before, and I understand how D&D works. None of that was a problem for me. But I found myself in a frustrated rage because Baldur’s Gate 3 has multiple complicated aspects to its turn-based combat that are never explained.

I never would have gone back to the game if I hadn’t seen so many funny clips shared on social media. After that, I became convinced that I wanted to see more of the story, so I dove back into Baldur’s Gate 3 and forced my way through its absurd learning curve. I’m glad I did – the gameis a colossal achievement in RPG design and character work. Its combat turns out to be extremely fun, too, and it’s challenging in all the best ways – but only once you actually learn how to fight, which to be clear, the game will scarcely lift a finger to teach you.

Related

Did you just purchase Baldur’s Gate 3 as a holiday present for yourself, and now you’re wondering if you made a huge mistake because you don’t understand how the hell to get through the first few fights? I’m here to help, and to tell you all the tips I wish I’d known back when this game first came out in September 2023.

You know how in D&D, you build a character and then you play as that character for the entire campaign? Not so in Baldur’s Gate 3, unless you intend to completely ignore all of BG3’scompanion NPCs (which you absolutely shouldn’t do – they’re all great, both in battle and in conversation – and the game is way too hard to be played solo rather than in a four-person party). The only exception to this would be if you were playing a four-player cooperative multiplayer game, in which case every single player would truly only need to know how their specific character operates. Statistically, though, that is not going to be how you play Baldur’s Gate 3 – so that means you’ve got a lot of learning to do.

For me, a person who rolled up a barbarian half-orc out the gate, fully prepared to melee my way through the experience, it came as quite a surprise to discover that I would not only need to learn the ins and outs of hitting people with axes but also every other completely different fighting style. Now, 150 hours into my BG3 experience, I’ve completely mastered spellwork, healing, and so on. But it was a hard road. Every single class feels completely different and needs a completely different playstyle, set of armor, and items on hand.

This, among many other reasons, is why Baldur’s Gate 3 is actually not very similar to D&D at all.