Beginner's Guide to Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 is finally in Early Access, so it's time to head to Fairun! It doesn't matter if you're new to the series or if you're familiar with the previous installments, this guide is for everyone!

In this article, I will try to explain to you the standard Dungeons & Dragons rules, break down the combat system, and give you some guidance on how to approach conversations, how to save (very often!) and when to reload the game.

The game is in early access, so there will be bugs

I spent over 12 hours in Baldur's Gate 3. Most of the game seemed to be quite complete (I mean what is shown in early access). Everything looks technically high quality, and bugs are relatively rare. However, the build is currently billed as "Early Access" so be polite and prepare yourself for unexpected glitches. Sometimes the texture or resources will not load. Sometimes during the cut-scene the camera will be pointed in the wrong direction. Sometimes a character's beard can end up on their forehead (just kidding, I haven't come across this yet). These bugs rarely affect gameplay. Yes, they will be fixed in the future.

The game uses the rules of the "Fifth Edition" Dungeons & Dragons

Baldur's Gate is based on D&D rules. In particularand, in the third part, the fifth edition of the rules is used - the largest for the popular tabletop RPG. This fact means some obvious things. If you are familiar with the fifth edition of the board game, then you probably understand what I'm talking about. If not, then…

You don't need to know D&D rules to play Baldur's Gate!

All D&D mechanics in Baldur's Gate 3 work automatically. After all, this is a video game, not a board game where you have to think for yourself for every aspect. The game and its engine are a character sheet, automatic dice roll (to determine the chance of success when using a skill) and the Dungeon Master. All you have to do is click the mouse. There are many different things, but most of them are ubiquitous in isometric RPGs.

Basic Rule of D&D

In D&D and, accordingly, Baldur's Gate 3, your character interacts with the world based on their characteristics - skills and abilities, the success of which is determined by rolling dice.

Skills and Abilities

Your abilities such as Strength (physical), Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma are scored on a 20-point scale, where 1 is the lowest, 10 is average, and 20 is superhuman.. Abilities define your skills. For example, if you have high strength, then you are automatically good at athletic activities (such as jumping). And if you have high charisma, then you are great at motivating people.

Mastery

Mastery is a permanent bonus to certain abilities that you gain based on your background, race, and chosen class.

Skill check

When you try to do something, D&D rules automatically roll a 20-sided die, which adds the appropriate modifiers to abilities and skills. This happens all the time in Baldur's Gate 3.

Gameplay is a combination of real-time and turn-based action

The main interaction with the outside world is clicking on the desired item, after which your character instantly approaches it. When there is something interesting, a chest or an enemy, then instantly click on the object to interact. Walks around the game world take place in real time. Your squad members will automatically follow you. But when the fight starts, turn-based mode starts. The order of actions of all participants in the battle appears in the upper left corner of the screen.

Move, Action, Bonus Action

Moves are approximately 6 seconds of time. During your turn, you have the option to move, act, or take a bonus action. As you might expect, moving your character moves across the battlefield. The default movement speed is 30 feet (range), but you can increase this setting. For example, choosing a faster or slower race. An action, such as attacking with a weapon. A bonus action is something less significant. For example, drink a potion. In addition to all of the above, there are reactions that deserve a separate explanation. And yes, remember that a spell can require both a normal action and a bonus action. Therefore, carefully read its description.

Reactions and exit from the threat zone

You see an area around the hero, the size of which depends on the weapon and the specific Reach skill (coverage). For most weapons and creatures, this parameter is 5. You can use a reaction once per turn: when an enemy leaves the Danger zone you created, your hero will attack him. Or, for example, esl?? If you move away from a monster that was just hit with a sword, it will have a chance to attack you without spending an action. On the other hand, you can circle around the character without him reacting if you stay in the threat zone. And problems can occur for the reason that Baldur's Gate 3 does not use a standard grid. But the rule is the same for everyone: even if you move 5.1 feet away, the enemy will attack your character.

Conversation is an important element of the game

Many important decisions made in the game are made in conversations. When you are chatting with someone, you have the opportunity to choose an answer option. Most of the options just continue the conversation, but the dialogue phrases with the skill in brackets require verification. Choosing such phrases will trigger the roll of the 20-sided die again. This will decide whether you successfully apply the skill or not. Before choosing a phrase, hover over the skill in brackets to see what the chances of its successful use are. Choose only those in which your characters are good.

But remember that the game gives you multiple ways to achieve your goal! Perhaps even if you fail a skill check in a conversation, you can find another character available for dialogue on this topic, or maybe find some kind of locked door available for hacking. And so on.

Don't trust the autosave system!

The game uses autosave. However, in Early Access, they work too unpredictably. Sometimes an autosave can happen before a conversation or fight, providing a convenient return point for replaying an episode, but more often it just doesn't happen and you lose some of your progress when you reload. Thus, the ideal is to use manual saves. And do it as often as possible!