There are a lot of decisions that you need to make in Baldur’s Gate 3, starting from the character creation screen. The decisions that you make are going to impact your gameplay and various aspects of the game. In this Baldur’s Gate 3 guide, we go over how you can get the perfect start, level up fast and recruit companions early on.
Getting The Perfect Start In Baldur’s Gate 3
Character Creation
Without getting into all the details, the three main aspects of your character are race, class, and background. When picking a race, you should look at the race bonuses or race features that are mentioned at the bottom. The first ones tell you the distance that your character is able to travel per turn. Your race is also going to give you extra proficiencies with specific weapons and armor. Elves, for example, have proficiencies with Longswords, Shortswords, Shortbows, and Longbows.
Different races also have different resistance. While some can be resistant to fire, others can be resistant to charms and sleep effects. Sub-races should not be ignored since these can give you active abilities and other perks.
When selecting a class, you should know about the class ability or the main stat. Melee classes have strength as their main stat, while ranged classes use Dexterity, and spellcasters such as wizards use intellect. You will want to boost the main stat early for ability check rolls. Note that you only get a bonus for every 2 levels of the main stat, so you should upgrade your main stat in even numbers. You can choose to invest a single point into other stats or wait until you have two points and invest them into your main stat.
With that said, you do not want to neglect the other stats. Dexterity can be important since high dex allows you to attack first. Furthermore, constitution will help you survive in combat.
Any class and race can pick any background, but some work better together than others. Backgrounds typically affect conversations that you have and ability checks, but they can, at times, impact some other aspects of the game as well.
Intimidation, from the Soldier background, for example, allows you to be more persuasive when talking to NPCs. This can help you avoid fights entirely and even change the direction of dialogue with some characters. Stealth, on the other hand, helps you remain undetected, and you can then ambush enemies and attack from behind to deal higher damage and even have a better chance of landing hits.
Leveling Up Fast Early On
You can level up fast by defeating the boss at the end of the prologue mission. The game encourages you to flee the encounter, but if you stick around and manage to defeat the boss, then you will be rewarded with XP that will help you progress the game. You can use the tanks in the area and light them up to deal damage to the boss. You can also interact with the brain to distract enemies while you are in the boss room.
Defeating the boss will reward you with the Everburn Blade that does 4-17 damage, and has some bonus perks as well. You will want to make sure that Shadowheart survives the encounter, or you could risk losing her.
Recruit Companions
Once you have made your way to the crashed ship and defeated the enemies, head over to the western exit, and you will find Astarion. You can then head over to the other side and interact with the opened portal to recruit Gale. You will now have a rogue and a wizard in your party. From here, head up the road, and you can free Lae’zel. You can decide whether or not to have her in your party.
From here, you can follow the main story to get a healer, or you can head to the crypt to get the class reset mechanic. To enter into the lower areas of the crypt faster, you can drop the suspended rock on the broken floor to make a hole in the ground and then jump inside. While exploring, open the tombs and get the Soul Coin, which you will use later on.
You will also need to open the main tomb, which rewards you with the Watcher’s Guide and a key to the next section. Opening the main tomb will activate the traps if you have not disabled them, so you will have to run.
Head over to the opposite side and open the final room using the engraved key. We recommend saving here. Head to the back of this room, and you will find a button on the wall that opens up a secret room. Here you will find a final tomb that you can open to find Withers.
This is the main NPC that will allow you to chain your skills and even your class. You can pay gold to respec into something else. You can also have him revive your team members that have fallen in battle.
Head To Druid’s Grove
You will eventually want to head over to Druid’s Grove since you need to get here in order to progress the story and meet some of the key characters of the game. Once you help the druids against the invaders, you will find Wyll, a companion that you can recruit. Wyll is a powerful warlock, and when leveled up, he can get some very cool abilities and is worth having around.
This is what you need to know about getting the perfect start in Baldur’s Gate 3. If you want to learn more, then you can check out our guide on how you can stop missing attacks. You can also check out our guide on how Saving Throw works.