Baldur’s Gate 3 Beginners Guide: 10 Things To Get Started

Getting into the groove and in dire need of a Baldur's Gate 3 Beginners Guide? Don't worry we got you covered.

Baldur's Gate 3 is on a fast track to being the roleplaying game of the year. It feels almost staggering how much there is to do and how many ways there are to go about it. As someone new to Dungeons and Dragons or CRPGs this can be quite overwhelming, especially if you have no prior experience with Larian Studio's output.

So here is our beginner's guide after several hours of failing our way forward through Baldur's Gate 3.

Baldur's Gate 3 Beginners Guide

1. For the Love of all that is Holy, Use The Quicksave

Quicksaving (F5) by default is one of the most important things in Baldur's Gate 3. While we don't encourage you to savescum your way through your adventure, it can at least cut down on time lost due to a party wipe.

Use the Quicksave a lot, use it often and you won't have to replay almost an hour's worth of progress because of a silly mistake. We found that saving when entering a new area or reaching a milestone is the way to go.

2. Mess Around and Find Out

Many games have conditioned us to buckle down and fight our way through any issue. But in Baldur's Gate 3, there are many solutions to one problem, not just the ones proposed to you by NPCs or even suggested in your quest log.

If you don't want to fight or deal with something, you can always look for an alternative route or solution. The game will push you in certain directions but you don't have to engage with anything but the main narrative to make progress.

Paying attention to dialog, getting the full scope of things, and then finding a solution that suits your character is one of Baldur's Gate 3s biggest strengths after all.

Combat is avoidable in most cases and you don't have to pass every speech or knowledge check to get ahead. Always keep that in mind.

3. Commit to your Mistakes

The game also features a lot of “happy little accidents”. While there is a general logic this game follows, sometimes a very dumb idea will lead down a lucrative path. That could be letting someone poke your eye out only to receive a much better one for compensation or a love-making session with your hot vampire boyfriend ending deadly.

Don't savescum your way through the campaign. Failed speech checks or unfortunate series of events can lead to really interesting and unique story moments down the line. Trust the dice and let it happen, you'll enjoy the game much more for it.

4. Roll With What You Got

Another one of those “play it your way” tips but it needs to be said. You don't need the perfect build that will solve every single situation in the most optimal way. That beats the entire purpose of a roleplaying game, does it?

And if you ever make a mistake in picking your class or their subclass, relatively early on you will also unlock the ability to respec your build at your camp against a little fee. So don't worry too much about the specifics.

5. Explore! But Caution

Baldur's Gate 3 features a very vast world with secrets and stuff to do tucked in every corner of every map. All the maps are large but never too large as to seem overwhelming. There is rarely any reason to not leave the beaten path to see what lurks behind the next tree. Often it's a treasure, an encounter, or a quest, some of which might even help you progress the main story.

When you head into Act II, the game will prompt you for reaching a point of no return. From there on out, you won't be able to travel back to earlier locations so if you want to get your fill of exploration, it can be relatively easy to skip a lot of what the game has to offer.

6. Think Outside the Box-Combat

What goes for exploration, goes for combat in Baldur's Gate 3. You'll quickly notice that much of your environment is interactable. You can shoot or throw things at the levelers, set something on fire, or even toss objects around to create barriers to halt enemies advancing.

Get creative with this, sure you could just drop a stature on a group of unexpecting enemies and call it a day. But keeping a barrel of oil ready, just in case you are in need of a big explosion and fire is also a valid strategy.

So whenever you find yourself in a pickle, keep an eye out. You'll never know what opportunities you can create with just a few spell scrolls.

7. You can Fast Travel Everywhere

We keep seeing this, and it happened to us as well. Yes, you can use the Fast Travel option in Baldur's Gate at any time, whenever you want. You don't even have to run back to the nearest Ancient Rune Circle to do it either.

Simply open your map (M by default) and click your desired Ancient Rune Circle and you'll be there in no time. You can also Fast Travel whenever you want as long as you're not in Combat.

8. All Your Companions Level At the Same Time

Worried that sticking to companions will set you up for failure later? Some companions might leave your party temporarily or forever as a result of your choices or maybe you just want to change things up because you don't like a character class.

We got good news for you, Experience Points are shared between characters. So if someone new joins your party down the line or if you're unsatisfied with someone's performance you don't have to worry about switching them out. Later on, you'll also unlock the ability to redistribute a character's level up at your camp.

9. You Can move Multiple Items at once

If you're a Lootgoblin, chances are you'll eventually end up with pockets full of trash that will only slow you down. Luckily there are ways to get around it. Not only can you distribute items between all party members from the comfort of your inventory screen, but you can also mark them.

Simply hold down Shift and Left Mouse and click every item you want to select. Then you can either right-click to send them to one of your party members or your stash at the camp. This also works fantastically when selling to merchants.

10. Don't Sleep on Alchemy

Alchemy and Potions are one of the most slept-on aspects of Baldur's Gate 3. They require some prep work but will not only save you money but also open up new possibilities.

All you need to do is pick up every, single thing you find in the wild since you never know when which one is coming in handy. Some materials will become increasingly rarer as you progress through the game, but you can always buy more from merchants or find it in various crates littering the overworld.

For more on Baldur's Gate 3, check out our Features Page. Here you'll learn what the Best Class for Beginners and how to Pick Pockets the proper way.