In this article, I'll cover pretty much all the fundamentals you actually need to be aware of in order to play full version of Baldur's Gate 3 or BG3 in 2023.
Let's start with creating your character. First, you’ll have to select your race and subrace. The primary race is being Elf, Tiefling, Drow, Human, Githyanki, Dwarf, Half-Elf, Halfling, Gnome, Duergar, Half Orc and Dragonborn. Short races and subraces in Early Access (EA) had varied stat bonuses, which essentially made some classes superior when combined with particular races. For example, as a Tiefling, you might get an increase to your charisma stat in the EA, which would be a good combo for a class like the Bard. However, in the full game of BG3, you won't get any stat increases from any particular race and so you'll just be able to freely move around your stats instead of having to stick to a specific combination of race and class. Despite this, your race is still crucial to the role-playing in BG3, and because Larian Studios, the game's developer, added an absurd amount of react activity to the game environment, your race can completely change how you play the game in addition to make some encounters. BG3 is a huge game and there's going to be times where situations might be handled differently.
Have you decided to play as something else? Another huge part that's just as important as your choice of class. Now, we know that multi-classing will be a thing so to create a sort of hybrid class, you can allocate points to other classes. However, the more points you invest in other classes, the more you miss out on higher level abilities and spells from your base class that because multi-classing in a way makes you a jack of all trades class. Now, in addition to your abilities, you also have access to special dialogue options and other role-playing features depending on your base class. So pick your class wisely. There are 12 main classes in BG3 these being Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock and Wizard. In general terms you would assume that all of these classes fill in certain roles. Like the Barbarian, which you would normally assume is a tank class. However, thanks to the introduction of multi-classing in the latter stages of Act 1, you can essentially build a spell-casting Barbarian. Accordingly, you can choose to fight either up close or from a distance, depending on the circumstance. Now, the usefulness of most classes varies quite a bit. For instance, Barbarians have access to Enraged Throw, which allows you to Throw smaller races at high speeds, while Rogues have sneak attacks at their disposal.
Now, while most classes differ quite a bit in terms of functionality for example Rogues have access to sneak attacks and Barbarians have access to Enraged Throw which allows you to throw smaller races at mach speed.
What's the difference between a Sorcerer and a Wizard? At first glance, they might seem like the same class but they're really not. A simple example is that the Sorcerer has access to something called Metamagic, which are skills that let you perform some pretty crazy things like split spells in two or greatly extend the range of your spell. Despite the fact that sorcerers have access to the majority of the game's spells, Wizards have unlimited freedom to switch between spells outside of combat. In other words, Wizards are more adaptable and have access to a wider variety of spells whereas Sorcerers are slightly more powerful overall. Again, this is merely a general description, and since there is multi-classing, you should be able to create some pretty effective hybrids between the two.
After selecting your primary class, you will also select your subclass, which is essentially a specialization for your primary class. There are a few subclasses accessible in the full game but to make it easier to understand most classes have access to three subclasses each with Paladins getting four, Clerics getting seven and Wizards having access to a whopping eight subclasses. Now, if you're not enjoying your subclass you will be able to re-roll it.
Now, In order to make your class as strong as possible, it's important that you choose the appropriate skill points or abilities. For example: as a Barbarian you want to max out your strength and preferably Constitution as your secondary. With strength influencing your hit chance and damage when using Wielding Strength weapons as well as enhancing your carrying capacity and jump range. As a melee class, having a high Constitution is always a good idea because it enhances your health. Again, though the choice is yours you can absolutely invest points into strength. Your primary attribute, shown by a star next to your ability points, is often what you want to invest in whenever you can, up to a total of 20 points and one ability, which is the maximum.
Skills: this is an additional part of your character that makes you proficient with. Now, in addition to your class determining what your base skills are, you can enhance some specific skills from your background, of which there are 13 in the full game. A good combination for having a high Sleight Of Hand is to pick the Charlatan or Urchin background. Both of which increased your Sleight Of Hand. There are many various combinations you may choose from, and I usually try to make this as fair as possible because your skills are situational and having a variety of proficiencies will be useful for different scenarios. However, it also depends on your personal preference of play style.
If you have opted to play as a magic user, you may have noticed that you can choose between Cantrips and Spells. Cantrips are essentially free spells that can be cast both within and outside of battle without the need for rest, as well as spells or abilities that have a limited amount of spell slots that can be used before needing a lengthy rest at your camp to recharge.
I tend to favor damage-dealing Cantrips while spells remain situational depending on the playstyle. In general, a Cantrip that deals damage is a necessary in my opinion because you never want to be caught in a situation where you are unable to damage the opponent after your spell slots run out.
How combat works in Baldur's Gate 3? First of all, BG3 is mostly turn based meaning that unless you manage to kill the enemy in one hit both you and your allies and your enemies will all take turns on what actions to take. Now, every time you cast a spell attack an enemy heals your allies or uses an item this counts as an action. Unless you have access to extra actions, which only a few specific classes have access to such as the Fighter. You must wait until the next turn to perform further actions, such as casting additional spells or firing additional arrows. But you also have access to something called a bonus action. So make sure you use that before ending your turn. Some bonus actions that everyone has access to are jump, dip, shove and hide and remember to use these whenever. It might give you an advantage like jumping to an elevated position or shoving someone off of a Cliff. All in all, combat might seem complicated but it really isn't. Especially, since the full game will have an easier story mode difficulty.
So that's essentially all the basics of how to actually play Baldur's Gate 3.
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