Baldur's Gate 3 News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Larian Studios came off of a strong year thanks to the release of Baldur’s Gate 3, with the Xbox Series X/S version launching during The Game Awards. Unfortunately, a severe bug has been doing the rounds on Xbox, leading to a loss of progress.

Although nothing has been confirmed for a potential DLC, that has not stopped speculation about how the game could be expanded. While is on its own an epic game with plenty for people to sink their teeth into, a DLC would be a great way to add back some cut content or expand on what is already there. From new areas and quests to adding more playable races and subclasses, there are more than a few ways Larian Studios could add to its masterpiece.

As we get into the final hours of the year, it’s time to reveal our overall Game of the Year 2023 winner!

might seem like the obvious choice for the best game of 2023 (and it was The Game Awards' GOTY), but claiming the throne of a major industry's yearly output is no simple feat. 2023 was full of excellent titles, with games like, and receiving glowing reviews from critics and fans alike. Taking a closer look at the situation helps clarify just how strong the argument for is and whether it can really comfortably rest at the top.

has a lot of content tucked away that the player might not run into during a first playthrough, or even their first several playthroughs. This could be from taking different routes through the first acts, or from focusing on the main quests without looking for all the side quests that are scattered throughout the game. However, that can result in small moments being missed, such as finding a home for a stray cat.

The vastly different personalities of companions are the perfect recipe for some serious tensions among party members, but it's possible to kindle romance between the most unlikely of characters despite their typical frostiness. The biggest divides between characters in the game tend to come as a result of disparate cultural values or outlooks on morality, building on the traditional races, backgrounds, and alignments of while allowing for some growth and flexibility. From Karlach's fundamental optimism to Astarion's penchant for flippant cruelty, the party has the perfect dose of dysfunction that seems to be a crucial adventuring recipe.

is a game all about choice and offers an immense amount of freedom when it comes to completing quests. However, not all those choices are good ones, and there are a surprising number that can lead to an instant game over for the party. From annoying would-be gods and desperate escapees to poor choices in the face of danger, there are a plethora of choices in that can result in instant death.

is based on 5e, but the game takes many liberties in adapting the tabletop game's rules. Some rules adaptations let players make use of existing options that are rarely utilized in normal 5e, such as jumping. Others, like bonus actions and reactions, are simply adapted to the digital interface to make using them more streamlined.

has more than its share of mysteries, but its most baffling by far is the identity of Tav. It's full of hidden endings, secret doors, obscure side quests, and head-scratching puzzles. Months after launch, players are still discovering new things to do as they journey through the Forgotten Realms. It's a truly massive game, and it seems like there are new oddities and Easter eggs being found and shared every day.

Forget the Dead Three and their humanoid thralls — the most evil character in is hiding just out of sight. There’s some variation in the characters everyone meets as they travel through the Forgotten Realms. Some of them are hidden behind an evil playthrough of , and only show themselves when certain unsavory choices are made. Others simply lurk in far-off places that most players won't visit unless they're looking for some specific kind of trouble. Still others, though, are truly hard to find. Players might only find them when making a particularly complicated, less obvious series of story decisions.

The PC Master Race has been a meme for a good 15 years now, but it’s truer than ever in 2023. A top tier gaming PC might be horrendously expensive when stacked up against a PS5 or Xbox Series X|S, but these days it gives you the best of all worlds. Almost.

The Nine Hells are not a place you can travel to outside the prologue to , unless you try to reach the devil Raphael's House of Hope in Avernus. This dungeon and mansion holds many secrets, and is where Raphael has enslaved other creatures and kept many contracts of infernal dealings. Legendary items can be stolen here, but only if you are willing to face one of the hardest bosses in the game.

has undergone several changes to its romances and how the romance — and by extension, approval — system works. First, it was too easy to start romances, to the point that every companion wanted to be with Tav, and some had a hard time accepting that they didn't win Tav's heart. However, even after the fixes that have been implemented up to this point, not every romance in is in proper working order.

While exploring the Adamantine Forge in, players will need to beat the Lava Elemental: a fearsome creature made of molten lava that guards some useful loot. This fiery creature's abilities, including self-healing and devastating melee attacks, make it tough for any party to face. However, it's also the perfect opportunity to improve your strategic combat skills, taking advantage of the Lava Elemental's many weaknesses.

By poisoning the Goblin Camp, players can make one of the toughest main fights in Act One much easier. The goblins have set up camp at the Shattered Sanctum, using it as a base to menace the Sword Coast in the name of the Absolute. Poisoning their drinks cuts the Goblin Camp's numbers, allowing you to tip the odds back in your party's favor.

One overlooked feature could easily save players thousands of gold, if they would only learn to manipulate it. There's plenty to buy and plenty to sell in the Forgotten Realms, and the flow of commerce all centers on 's diverse range of merchants. They're quite a departure from the usual RPG approach to shopping: instead of carrying the same inventory of generic potions and tools, with incrementally improving weapons and armor as the game goes on, many merchants have inventories full of rare, one-of-a-kind items. They're a reliable source of gear, and always worth checking when the party arrives in a new town.

might seem like a phenomenon unto itself, but there are plenty of other great options to find a similar brand of enjoyment on PC. The original was only one computer RPG among a rash of excellent titles that hit in the late 90s, and games that stay loyal to classic elements of the formula have continued to be released over the years. From fantasy classics to recent innovations, there's something for everyone who had a blast with

Before its release, promised to include 17,000 different endings — but does it really? There's undeniably a ton of player choice and variation in the game. There are even hundreds of contingencies and failsafes in case players try to break . It wouldn't be too much of a stretch at all to say there are thousands of different ways its story can play out, but 17,000 endings is an entirely different kind of claim.

When your character takes a level in a different class from their starting archetype in , you can create powerful multiclass combinations that use the best abilities from both paths. All 12 classes in the game can be mixed and matched to form deeper character builds across a campaign. Some spells and other skills pair up in interesting ways that you may not expect as your character grows.

Many different characters in get killed in gruesome murders, but you have a chance to solve who committed the one that took place in the Open Hand Temple. This place in Rivington has seen the unfortunate death of the Temple's leader, Father Logan. Only you and your party can investigate this crime and find the culprit behind the murder.

Warning: This article contains spoilers about The Guardian's Identity.

As big as online gaming has become, 2023 has shown that single player games are absolutely thriving. Whether it’s a sequel that takes what its forebears did and refines or expands the experience further, a game that takes a genre and wrings every ounce of creativity and ingenuity out of it with new ideas, this year has been absolutely fantastic for gamers that like to be left alone in front of the screen.

Multiplayer gaming feels pretty much inescapable these days. Sure, we’ve left the days of “tacked on” multiplayer modes behind us, but now we have so many games that are all about online gaming, live service models, and a constant drip feed of things to lure you back in to play.

A hidden item called the Ancient Tome can be unlocked to give your character extra magic in . This book is derived from taboo necromancy and draws upon forbidden knowledge to show the darkest secrets of the arcane. You can find this artifact fairly early in the game, but you must complete a few tasks to harness the power of the Ancient Tome.

may be an adaptation of, but that doesn't always mean it's a perfect, one-to-one conversion. 's rules for resolving dialogue and combat scenarios are drawn directly from the Fifth Edition of rules, which was first released in 2014. This is the first mainline game in the series to be based on the Fifth Edition; the first and second both draw from the Second Edition. However, it draws more expansively from the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, which has been employed in modules and spin-offs since its very first edition.

Illithid powers are a potent way to increase a character's prowess in , but not every power is created equal. Although customizing growth is a major part of the game across the board, taking from the complex leveling system of tabletop, illithid powers most directly resemble the idea of a video game skill tree. Making the right choices when it comes to illithid powers can make a huge difference in the later parts of, and one particular ability has tremendous potential to transform a character in battle.

There are several characters in that are worth their own spin-off title in the series. The popular RPG by Larian Studios features a compelling story and part of that narrative value stems from the complexity of the characters that are presented throughout the campaign. These include the companions in , as well as several friendly – and even unfriendly – NPCs that players may encounter during their journeys along the Sword Coast. While there are a lot of interactable NPCs that do not have much to offer players, especially the citizens of the city in Act 3, several others are carefully developed over time.

has no shortage of humor, but some of the best jokes are often found outside the central content of the game. Dealing with mind flayer parasites and the threat of a mysterious god that could cause wide-scale catastrophe isn't exactly a lighthearted matter, so although there are plenty of quips here and there, the overall tone of the main story is often somber. Going off the beaten path can frequently end up revealing dark situations or tragic stories, but it also leads to a lot of general amusement that provides a nice change of pace.

With the bar for quality in gaming being raised even further in 2023, a lot of questions have emerged. How sustainable was this kind of progression for the long term? Can we expect this many legitimate Game of the Year contenders in 2024? Just how much has the idea of industry standouts as individuals or brands broken into the mainstream?

In , making deals with devils is repeatedly emphasized to be a bad decision, and that the consequences can't be avoided. However, devils aren't the only creatures that the party can make deals with in. And just like dealing with devils, dealing with other creatures can also have unexpected or surprising consequences, such as debt collectors showing up to demand payment from the party.

Although Honour Mode in offers a unique challenge, the heightened difficulty also comes along with a single save slot, which can put much more focus on one of the game's biggest shortcomings. Added in the game's fifth major patch, Honour Mode is a difficulty setting that goes beyond even the previous hardest mode, Tactician, buffing enemy stats, changing their tactics, and giving bosses unique Legendary Actions to make them even more challenging. Along with the added in-game difficulty, though, Honour Mode also comes with the caveat of only allowing a single save, effectively eliminating save-scumming from the equation.

Video games have proven themselves over the years to be great at telling stories. Sure, many games will concern themselves with battling world-ending evils, but there’s just as much capacity here for smaller and more intimate tales as well. More importantly, as you take control of characters, and as games are so often capable to weaving your choices and decisions into the narrative flow, you can become thoroughly immersed in these digital worlds.

is playable without any prior knowledge or experience, but that can lead to missing context and a lack of explanation for some elements included in the game. Instead, gives enough information about enemies pulled from to explain why they should be avoided or eliminated, such as the illithid not having souls and seeking to turn others into illithid. However, there's a lot that goes unexplained for those who have no existing knowledge of the Forgotten Realms.

True Soul Nere is one of the many characters in that adventurers can interact with. In the Underdark in Act 1, players will have the choice of killing Nere, letting Nere die, or saving him from his fate after a cave-in leaves him trapped with poisonous gas. As with most decisions in, there are various outcomes depending on which route is taken. However, one outcome seems to be better overall — but it does come with a small caveat that lower-level characters should know. This is becausedeciding to kill or free Nere will result in various fights, depending on what choices are made.

Honor Mode is the new permadeath one-save mode in Baldur’s Gate 3, and players are failing it in some pretty hilarious ways.

has been fully released for a few months now, but the developers continue improving the game with regular updates in the form of patches and hotfixes. Plenty of those adjustments made through updates are subtle or not noticed without reading the patch notes that accompany them. Some changes, however, have had a larger impact than most others, even if the changes themselves weren't necessarily large.

2023 picked up where 2022 left off when it comes to video game releases. Just like the year prior, there were no shortage of excellent launches; unlike last year, however, 2023 features a slew of Game of the Year contenders. The selection is so strong that taking the five most popular choices for 2023 GotY and stacking it against any 5-year span of actual winners might not look out of place. In a year that began with a bang in and ended with an even bigger one-two punch of and, one game stood tall: , Screen Rant's 2023 Game of the Year.

is an epic game filled with characters and NPCs for the party to interact with and get to know. Strangely enough, several of these brilliant characters just happen to be cats, 10 of which can be found throughout the game and chatted with. With each cat having their own personality and quirks, tracking them all down is a must for anyone looking to uncover all their secrets and hidden quests.

Similar to other large-scale RPGs, has a number of characters and locations that it can be easy to miss some — especially when one is locked out by certain decisions, like the githyanki Orpheus. With the many possible ways that players might progress through, it might be easy to miss many of the game's best moments and characters, which can bleed over to other quests and even the overall ending of the entire game.

Many fans of Baldur’s Gate 3 were expecting the game to launch on Xbox Game Pass; Larian has now confirmed that the game is worth the price it is set at and will not be coming to the subscription service. 

The Adamantine Forge is a powerful crafting opportunity in , but choosing what item to use it for can be a difficult decision. Found in Grymforge, a Duergar camp made among impressive ruins, the forge can make use of Mithral Ore to make any one of a selection of unique weapons and armor. The infusion of a turquoise glow gives items created at the Adamantine Forge a strong cosmetic appeal, but the biggest draw comes from their combat utility, as each one offers special abilities to empower whoever happens to wield it. To craft items with the Adamantine Forge, the party must first find the Mithral Ore hidden above the lava.

Gale Dekarios is 's resident wizard, available as a playable Origin character as well as romance option, who will happily talk anybody's ear off about all things magic. However, there may be more to this loquacious spellcaster than first meets the eye. Because for all his talk about Mystra and his beloved cat, Gale's tales of his magical abilities don't quite add up.

Spells in offer potent buffs vital for survival in the new Honour Mode. This latest difficulty adds numerous challenges for players, including one save file and permadeath if all characters die. Luckily, there are multiple ways to make Honour Mode slightly easier with supportive spells. These can help mitigate the increased damage bosses deal with their new legendary actions.

Sovereign Glut and Sovereign Spaw are two major characters who present a branching path in , and choosing which one to side with can be difficult. These two Myconid sovereigns can both be encountered in the Underdark, the subterraneum realm accessible in Act 1 of the game. Sovereign Spaw is the leader of a Myconid circle seeking protection from (and vengeance upon) Duergar aggressors, while Sovereign Glut has lost his own circle to the same intruders and has taken refuge in the colony that Spaw oversees.

Along with the other big additions brought by the fifth major update for , Patch 5 has also made it significantly easier to recruit Minthara without needing to commit to an «evil» playthrough. Released months after the game's initial launch, Patch 5 brings possibly the largest changes to the game yet, in the form of a playable epilogue and two new difficulty settings — the extra-challenging Honour Mode and the modular Custom Mode. With those major additions, though, the game has also introduced, as usual, a number of smaller fixes and adjustments.

Developers that worked on 2023's best games share what it means to them to win at The Game Awards.

2023 was an excellent year for gaming, particuarly for RPGs. Fans of roleplaying games had plenty to choose from this year, and there was a little something for everyone. Open-world titles like were highly anticipated, and the CRPG became the best-reviewed game of the year., an indie game, was a standout in a year full of AAA releases in the genre.

You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.

An issue on Xbox causing saves to disappear has now been fixed.

all takes place on the Sword Coast, an area in the Forgotten Realms, which is the default setting for. Along with the world, uses a modified version of fifth edition rules to bring the adventure to life. However, changes have obviously had to be made to translate the tabletop experience to a video game. While some of these are relatively small, others could cause confusion for new players joining from; there are some things in the game that bend or even break the TTRPG rules.

is full of important decisions to make, and meeting Auntie Ethel offers a few interesting choices and branching paths. This trader can be found in the Emerald Grove in Act 1, hawking her wares to tieflings. She may seem like any other trader in the game, but Auntie Ethel is more than she appears. The party will need to use caution when striking a deal with Auntie Ethel, if they don't want to avoid her offer entirely.

has several mysterious characters, and perhaps the most interesting among them is Withers. In terms of game mechanics, Withers is a necessary addition to the party's camp. His primary contributions are resurrecting dead companions, allowing for the purchase of hirelings, and helping respec characters. While there was no need to give Withers an in-depth background, Larian Studios shrouded him in mystery and gave multiple hints about his identity, which turns out to be pretty important.

The most recent patch for adds two new gameplay settings, one of which is the ultra-difficult Honour Mode. It's one of two new modes added in Patch 5 of , in addition to the highly flexible Custom Mode. In many ways, it's similar to the hardest default difficulty setting in , Tactician Mode, but is far from a simple expansion thereof. In fact, it's so much harder, it includes a lengthy pop-up window warning about all the ways it can screw players over. It's less than ideal for a first playthrough, but could be interesting for a repeat or challenge run.

Baldur’s Gate 3 had a huge night at The Game Awards 2023, winning Game of the Year and then just launching the game on Xbox Series X|S. Surprise!

was stealth-dropped onto Xbox Series X|S during The Game Awards last night, and it seems like this is because Larian Studios’ CEO Swen Vincke forgot to make the announcement. Vincke was meant to mention the release during an award acceptance speech, but he failed at his “one job” and left several people confused in the process.

While most players in Baldur’s Gate 3 will choose the usual custom origin, others who try out The Dark Urge are finding that it has ruined custom characters for them.

offers the opportunity to have amazing powers, with magic and powerful items at the party’s fingertips. However, one source of these awesome abilities is being ignored by a surprising number of players. While there could be a few reasons for this, those people are missing out on some great powers that could help save Faerûn.

The latest patch for added many new things, including bug fixes and an epilogue party hosted by Withers. Alongside the combat tweaks and inventory overhauls are two new gameplay modes: Honour and Custom. While Honour Mode is designed to give players a significant challenge with a single save file, Custom Mode allows for an experience which will be completely unique to each playthrough.

Baldur’s Gate 3 had a huge night at The Game Awards 2023, winning Game of the Year and then just launching the game on Xbox Series X|S. Surprise!

The long-awaited and highly anticipated Xbox Series X/S port of has finally released, coming as a surprise reveal following The Game Awards 2023. Delayed due to development issues, 's Xbox release window had remained nebulous, with developer and publisher Larian Studios aiming to get it out before the end of the year. Those still waiting to jump into the smash hit CRPG on Xbox are in luck, however, as the game is available now.

The Game of the Year award at The Game Awards (TGA) 2023, abbreviated as the GOTY, has finally been revealed. The largest and most important game awards celebration was held this Thursday, December 7, and was the stage for the announcement of the winners of the best games and names from the current per category. Such categories include disputes such as Best RPG, Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, and much more. The biggest award, however, is the GOTY, as it nominates the title that is considered the absolute best during the year.

The winners of the several categories of The Game Awards 2023 have been revealed, with many games and industry names being celebrated for their feats this year. In total, the event abbreviated as TGA 2023 gave out 31 awards in different categories, ranging from the Game of the Year (also known as GOTY) to Content Creator of the Year and even Best Esports Coach. The awards acknowledge the best of gaming every year, and in 2023, there were a lot of good releases. Some titles like and stood out more than others, appearing as nominees in multiple categories in The Game Awards 2023.

Alongside a new epilogue and other features added by the fifth major update for , the game has also introduced a new hardest difficulty, Honour Mode, which adds a level of challenge that significantly exceeds any preexisting way of playing the game. However, aside from just increasing in-game difficulty, Honour Mode also introduces an extremely limiting, automatically updating single save slot for the entire playthrough, meaning that player decisions, bad rolls, and other potential mishaps can't be walked back once they happen.

is undoubtedly one of the biggest hits of 2023, receiving endless critical praise and an ever-growing player base since its release this summer. The long-anticipated sequel by Larian Studios has captivated fans by giving them the ability to do just about anything in a fantasy world, allowing them to explore the entire spectrum of morality alongside a brilliant cast of characters. The title has received eight nominations this year at The Game Awards, including Game of the Year.

There is one specific decision in that transforms the player’s character, known as Tav, into a cheese wheel – and, curiously, that transformation has occurred over a million times, according to stats shared by the developer Larian Studios. The complexity and depth of the world created for the critically acclaimed RPG allow players to tackle the game in the way they prefer and, in doing so, encounter many well-spread secrets, be they hidden items to optional interactions. One of these interactions sees their humanoid character, regardless of race, class, or subclass, transformed into a sentient wheel of cheese that can roll around.

Thanks to Patch 5, good-aligned players can now officially recruit Minthara as a companion, allowing her to join the party on their quests. The evil Drow Paladin was previously only recruitable if players raided the Emerald Grove in Act One, effectively locking out good-aligned characters from experiencing her story. However, to recruit Minthara, you’ll need to follow a few specific steps to the letter.

Larian Studios' latest patch for was a big one, full of bug fixes, new clothes, and, most importantly, a playable epilogue. While the majority of this conclusion is defined by the choices players have made throughout their adventure, there was one tiny addition that everyone will get to enjoy. In an easily missed line of new dialogue, one fan favorite character was officially made part of canon.

The Resonance Stone is a strange, spider-like object available in. It is a round, purple stone on a pedestal with pointed legs and a dragon's face. The Resonance Stone improves the mood of all characters within a 9-meter/30 feet radius. Specifically, they get the Steeped in Bliss status, which has both boons and consequences.

There’s one Baldur’s Gate 3 mod that has garnered a flooding of controversy on Reddit, reaching over 16,000 upvotes. But what is this Ser Aylin mod controversy for BG3?

Although is one of the biggest releases of 2023, quickly becoming a front-runner for multiple Game of the Year awards, one of the game's few notable weak points on release was its lackluster ending. After the final battle, each companion simply received a few short lines of dialogue, with many story-relevant characters not featured in the ending at all, and the game would come to a somewhat abrupt end. As of the game's fifth major patch, however, has received an all-new epilogue, promising additional closure to the stories of companions and other major characters.

Larian Studios, the developer behind , is quite fond of hiding secret encounters, loot, and locations within its games, and its latest project is no exception. Following up on the prior games developed by Bioware, the newest entry delivers the fluidity and variety of choices that make a role-playing game stand out. encourages thorough exploration and multiple playthroughs in order to discover everything hidden throughout its world.

In Act One of , the adventurers encounter Sazza, a sassy goblin stuck in a cage. While the goblins have been an imminent threat thus far throughout the playthrough, a definitive choice must be made here. Either save Sazza or mercilessly let the guards put her out of her misery while she's trapped. This decision can seem like a no-brainer, but it actually has pretty serious implications for the entire campaign of. For this reason, it's important to weigh the pros and cons before making a final decision and potentially venturing down an undesired path.

There's plenty of sass to be had in . Its characters always have something to say, and more often than not, that something is a cheeky one-liner or a snide snipe. Whether they're putting down an omnipotent boss, critiquing one of Tav's decisions, or simply making a flippant remark, almost every character in has a potentially smart mouth — the only difference is how often they choose to open it.

Throughout the first act of , the companion Gale will beg to consume the party's magic items; however, it can be difficult to choose whether to give them up. Gale is one of 10 companions in , a human wizard with an Icarian backstory. In his insatiable hunger for power, Gale sparked an unfortunate romance with the goddess Mystra, and wound up with a Netherese Destruction Orb in his chest. This is more than just heartbreak; the Orb is akin to a bomb, and its timer is forever ticking down. Gale needs to put the big kaboom off as long as possible, and the best way to do that is by consuming magic items.

Orpheus is an essential character tied to several story-defining decisions that could see your party save the royal figure or cause his demise. Captured by the Emperor, the Githyanki Prince only has a short time before the Mind Flayer consumes his brain. Your choices throughout your adventures might make saving Orpheus easy or a tragic sacrifice.[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3.]The quest appears in 's Act 3 as part of a personal mission tied to the potential companion Fighter Lae'Zel. This Githyanki warrior has remained loyal to Orpheus despite their circumstances and has no doubt been reminding your character of the Prince's plight during your journey. You'll discover that Orpheus has been trapped in the Astral Prism, with his powers used to suppress the Absolute's influence.

Act 2 of takes you and your party toward a horrific Mind Flayer sanctum underneath Moonrise Towers, but the only way to reach this place is to solve a puzzle within a Necrotic Laboratory. A Flesh-Wrought Door blocks you from powerful items and secrets lurking beyond in the hidden lair of the creatures who caused your adventure to begin with. Fixing a shattered consciousness broken by the Flayers will help open the way forward.

From Death Stranding 2 and Wonder Woman, to Judas and Hellblade 2, these are just some of the games we're hoping will make an appearance at this year's Game Awards.

As an RPG that places a high emphasis on choice, many of the possible decisions in the quests of can have different outcomes. Rewards, the fates of minor NPCs, and even entire character arcs can change depending on which options are chosen — and, in many cases, not all the options available are clearly outlined. However, as these choices can also have a snowball effect on later events in the game, it can be difficult to make a clear decision, especially as many of them can only be made once in a single playthrough.

Larian Studios wasn't messing around when they said there was a lot coming with Baldur's Gate Patch #5. The latest update is a 30GB doozie packed with tons of fixes and features., so much so that simply calling it «Patch #5» feels like a disservice to how massive the update really is.

Players can now romance multiple partners in if they use a special polyamory mod created by a fan. In Larian Studios’ RPG, characters can often only romance a single companion – while there are one-time romance partners in , developing a meaningful relationship with a companion is often limited to monogamy. Some characters will allow players to have a one-time fling with certain romance options, while others seem somewhat more possessive about their lovers. Lae’zel, for instance, breaks up with the player if they romance with Mizora. Alternatively, some want to have the player for themselves before allowing them to take on any other partners.