Baldur's Gate 3: 10 Combat Pro Tips To Dominate Any Encounter
Highlights Resting after encounters replenishes resources, allowing characters to unleash powerful attacks and reposition without worrying about their immediate resource count. Players can inspect enemies to learn their stats and resistances, helping them strategize and choose the most effective skills and spells in combat. Utilizing actions, bonus actions, and reactions effectively in each round of combat maximizes a character’s presence and allows for more creative and devastating attacks.
Encounters in Baldur’s Gate 3 describe combat scenarios where the game’s exploration transitions into turn-based combat. Taken as a concept from Dungeons & Dragons, encounters in Baldur’s Gate 3 make fighting look like a typical turn-based RPG. However, D&D 5e’s unique action economy gives players a lot of things to do in each character’s turn.
Before players get overwhelmed, they should remember that their characters also possess skills they could do with their action economy. Knowing when to use which particular skills and spells can decide how combat usually ends in Baldur’s Gate 3. However, how can newcomers use the game’s combat system to secure their advantage in any fight?
10 Fight Only When Fully Rested
Since a battle in Baldur’s Gate 3 can happen at any time (even during conversations), it’s ideal for players to visit Camp after the encounter to ensure all their spent resources are replenished. That way, characters can dish out powerful attacks on the get-go or reposition without worrying about their immediate resource count.
A fully-rested party can motivate players to get more creative with their approaches in combat, as there’s no need to keep an injured party member close or waste unnecessary Spell Slots and even Health Potions before fighting an enemy.
9 Inspect Thy Enemy
While it’s true that players enjoying their Baldur’s Gate 3 experience will almost always get into fights blind, at least for the first time. However, players actually have the means to check what sort of basic stats and even Resistances that enemies, and everything else in the world, possess. To do this, players must right-click the interactive object they’re interested in and select “Inspect.”
This option reveals a window with the 3D portrait of the object they selected, much like the character examination screen. The “Inspect” feature allows players to identify what elements and attack types have Advantage (Weakness) or Disadvantage (Resistance) towards enemies and even objects.
8 Consider The Action Economy
Unlike other RPGs where a character’s “turn” can be spent by either attacking or unleashing a spell, Baldur’s Gate 3 follows D&D’s Action Economy where a character can pull off an Action, a Bonus Action, and even a Reaction in a single round of combat. Players should build characters to always have an option for any of these action types to maximize their presence in battle.
For example, players can maximize a Cleric like Shadowheart by using Healing Word and Cure Wounds, potent healing Spells. However, while Cure Wounds heals more HP, it takes up an Action to cast, while Healing Word takes a Bonus Action. Shadowheart becomes more combat-efficient if she uses her Bonus Action for Healing Word, so she still has an Action open for another maneuver.
7 Establish Momentum With Actions
Many Spells and Features from D&D give Baldur’s Gate 3 players a lot of room to deal more damage to enemies when used in the correct sequence. For instance, an Arcane Trickster Rogue can use True Strike (Divination Cantrip) to gain Advantage on their next Attack, practically giving them a free pass to insert a Sneak Attack in their next turn.
However, Rogues like Astarion don’t necessarily have to wait for the rest of the round to get that Sneak Attack. For instance, Shadowheart can cast Guiding Bolt (Level 1 Evocation) to deal 4d6 Radiant Damage on an enemy alongside granting Advantage to the next Attack Roll against them, making it a neat setup for Astarion.
6 Recovery Is Always A Priority
Thanks to Multiclassing, Magic Items, and certain Feats, Baldur’s Gate 3 characters have opportunities to access Spells and other skills otherwise unavailable to their build. In turn, there’s no reason for characters not to have some means of recovery during combat.
On top of basic Health Potions, players should look for Magic Items and Feats (i.e. Magic Initiate) that give access to healing Spells such as Healing Word and Cure Wounds. This way, all characters can survive combat without relying on the designated healer. Moreover, this gives the healer more creative leeway to support the rest of the team, such as using buffs or casting more damaging spells.
When players surprise an enemy without the rest of their Baldur’s Gate 3 party, they technically “act” outside combat constraints. Still, an attack that prompts the surprise round is counted towards the player’s turn, meaning they lose the resource they used for that strike (most likely an Action). At first glance, this is disadvantageous to the character: not only are they left with no choice but to end their turn, but they’re also outnumbered. Once they end their turn, enemies can swoop in for the kill, right?
Not necessarily – in situations where only a few characters end up in an encounter, other Companions uninvolved in combat are still in exploration mode. This poses a huge advantage to players, as they can use these free-moving Companions to take up more tactical positions before joining the encounter with their surprise attacks with barely any punishment.
4 Augment Attacks With Weapon Actions
While Baldur’s Gate 3 does follow D&D rules, the game sets itself apart from the acclaimed TTRPG by adding Weapon Actions. These skills attached to weapons add a lot of versatility to characters, especially melee-oriented Classes like the Fighter, who don’t always have utility options like spellcasters.
For instance, players deciding whether to use the Short/Longbow or a Hand Crossbow can look at their exclusive Weapon Actions. The Hand Crossbow has Mobile Shot, wherein they can make a ranged attack even after using the Dash or Disengage Action. However, the Short/Longbow offers the Hamstring Shot that may halve an enemy’s Movement Speed.
3 Bonus Actions Can Turn The Tide Of Battle
In Dungeons & Dragons gameplay, Bonus Actions pertain to “light” maneuvers that don’t need extreme efforts that take the entirety of a character’s turn. On top of certain Spells and Class Features such as the Druid’s Wild Shape, all BG3 characters share a basic set of Bonus Action options. Players who feel like their characters can’t do anything in their turn should consider doing any of these Bonus Actions, as this can contribute towards better setups when appropriately used.
For instance, Jumping and Dashing can help characters get closer or farther from enemies and reach areas for better attack coverage. Likewise, Dipping a weapon to a nearby surface may deal extra damage according to an enemy’s Weakness. Meanwhile, Shoving a target can make them move closer to another character for more efficient strikes. Lastly, Hiding can help players reposition without the risk of being attacked.
2 Abuse Environment Interactions
Minus Extra Attack mechanics, Spells, Scrolls, and unique projectiles become the best ways to deal as much damage as possible in Baldur’s Gate 3. Still, their few Spell Slot costs make them unsustainable for prolonged encounters. These limitations can make many Baldur’s Gate 3 encounters difficult until players remember that the game has interactive environments.
Hitting an oil barrel with a flaming projectile (Spell or otherwise) can cause an explosion that damages surrounding enemies – and players don’t even need to break a sweat. Other nifty interactions include throwing heavy objects at enemies, using electricity-based or ice-based attacks on enemies on water surfaces, or even hitting dangerous-looking plants that emit deadly gases.
1 Make Other NPCs Do The Work
Players and their Baldur’s Gate 3 party who end up fighting opponents much more challenging than they seem can use the distance of nearby town centers to their advantage. When done correctly, players can get unexpected allies in the form of warriors among the townsfolk who are more than eager to attack ne’er-do-wells within their range.
An example is the encounter with Harpies in the Secluded Cove in Act 1. While the initial target of the Harpies was the boy they were enthralling with their song, multiple Harpies will attempt to climb their way to the Emerald Grove. At a specific range, the Tieflings and Druid will set aside their conflict and rally together to fight the Harpy threat, giving players some breathing room to recover and outmaneuver their enemies.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is currently available for PC and is slated for a September 6, 2023 release on PlayStation 5.