Baldur's Gate 3, currently in early access on PC and Stadia, isn't the easiest RPG to learn. There are no detailed tutorials to familiarize yourself with its systems or combat mechanics.
Since Baldur's Gate 3 is modeled after Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, familiarity with the tabletop D&D ruleset is extremely helpful here, but not necessary. Regardless of your prior knowledge, Baldur's Gate 3 combat can feel overwhelming.
In this guide, I go over more advanced combat tips and tactics, including planning, surprise attacks, and aimed fire, among others. If you missed our guide covering the basics of Dungeons & Dragons 5E combat and core mechanics, you can check it out via the link above.
This advanced combat guide assumes you have read this tips article and are already familiar with the basics of combat in Baldur's Gate 3.
Baldur's Gate 3 Advanced Battle Tips & Tactics
Use all your actions
Remember how I mentioned in my combat basics guide that actions, movement, and bonus actions are all separate items for any given turn? Don't leave any action on the table if you can help it.
Maybe there's a torch nearby and you can dip your sword into the flame before attacking for some extra flame damage. Maybe you can take a bite of apple for a little healing after your attack instead of just ending the round.
This is made more important by the environments of BG3.
Use the environment
In many turn-based tactical games, the environment is more decorative than functional. This is not the case in Baldur's Gate 3.
You can ignite surfaces on fire, turn a surface into ice, put out fires, collapse structures, and more. going off the beaten track. Chances are, if you approach combat head-on without monitoring your surroundings, you're going to be in a lot of trouble.
A good example of using the environment to your advantage is a fight in a dark cave against a swarm of poisonous teleport spiders. It's one of the toughest fights in the Early Access version right now if you're not prepared, and that's mostly down to the environment.
Spiders can teleport above you on web bridges (hint: burn those web bridges) and easily coat the ground in poison. It can be a tough fight...unless it's not. Did you know you can light poison puddles on fire? Now you do.
Use the Shove action liberally
Did you know that the Shove action is a bonus action? This means you can walk up to an enemy, attack them, and then knock them back, potentially causing them to fly off a cliff or fall to the ground.
Like lighting poison puddles, you should push more often.
Positioning
The layout of the battlefield is the most important thing to consider in Baldur's Gate 3 combat. Very few battles are fought on flat ground or even on a playing field. each area, be it roofs, stairs, ledges, cliffs or anything in between.
Height matters a lot in Baldur's Gate 3. If you're planning on ranged combat, you should always gain heights. This will give you an advantage on all attacks.
You also need to consider cover, objects in the environment, location of enemies and allies, etc.
move things
Moreover, the use of the environment is not just general figurative advice. In some cases, you can literally use the environment by picking up things like boxes and barrels and dragging them around. Remembering this small but important mechanism is a game changer; you could give yourself impromptu cover or climb onto something for a better angle.
spread
Grouping your party together is almost always a terrible idea in D&D and certainly here in Baldur's Gate 3.
Not only do spellcasters have plenty of area of ​​effect (area of ​​effect) spells that can hit large areas at once, but combatants take lunge attacks, and surfaces can catch fire, turn into ice, becoming webbed, being coated in poison and so much more.
The closer your party members are to each other, the more likely they are to share damage unnecessarily.
The exception to this is if you need to heal or (perhaps) try to surround an enemy to get backstab damage as a rogue. In this case, you must stab, then use a bonus action to disengage and again put some distance between you and your enemy.
Focus on fire
Using focus fire whenever possible is a well-known strategy in D&D. This means focusing on incapacitating one enemy at a time rather than spreading all of our damage across multiple enemies.
If you spend the attacks of three characters on a single enemy for one turn, you may be able to kill that enemy, eliminating one source of damage each future turn. But if you spread out your damage and take everyone out slowly over time, the amount of potential damage you could receive each round stays the same.
A dead enemy cannot damage you, but an enemy with only 1 HP can still deal full damage. This is why you concentrate the fire.
The exception here might be if you have a tough fighter who can occupy a group or block a passage to prevent more enemies from arriving while the other members of your group focus fire on someone else. It is a strategic exception.
Plan ahead
In many Baldur's Gate 3 encounters, you will be able to tell in advance that you are going to enter the fight. Whether it's the layout of the area, the positioning of menacing-looking NPCs, or whatever. But sometimes you know or have a bad feeling.
In these cases, don't just run blind. Use the time before the fight begins to prepare and approach the encounter as Batman would. For example, place your ranged party members high up, preferably near some shadows, for a surprise attack that can deal sneak attack damage.
surprise attacks
When combat begins, it only begins for characters in your party that the enemy is aware of. This means that if you have a character hiding outside of a meeting room, hiding on top of a cliff, or hiding behind cover and they have not been spotted, then they are not beholden. on initiative and in turn order. Use this to your advantage.
If you decide to open fire and attack an enemy engaged in combat with the rest of your group, this is considered a surprise attack. You have the advantage with a surprise attack because the enemy doesn't know you're there. It's basically a free attack.
After that, the character is inserted into the Initiative order along with everyone else.
Sneak Attacks
Sneak attacks are a bit different. This is a special type of attack that only certain characters, such as Rogues, or sometimes Rangers and Fighters, can perform depending on their class characteristics. You must be hidden or stealthy to perform a sneak attack.
If you're not in combat yet, it's as simple as hiding in the shadows before attacking. But make sure you click Sneak Attack on the correct skill bar, not the main attack action.
If you are in combat, then you must step out of the enemy's line of sight, use the Hide bonus action, and then attempt to sneak attack the enemy.
Attack of Opportunity and Disengagement
If you are within melee attack range, usually around 1,50 feet away, you are engaged in combat with an enemy if they have noticed you. If you try to get away from them, they get an attack of opportunity against you. The same goes if they leave you.
Using an attack of opportunity uses your reaction, which is a special type of action that must be triggered, meaning you only get one attack of opportunity until your next turn.
You can avoid an attack of opportunity if you use the Disengage action. This will allow you to exit combat without triggering an attack of opportunity. For thieves, this is usually a bonus action; since they eventually get two bonus actions per turn, they are extremely versatile in combat.
Unlike real D&D, Disengage is mapped to the jump action in Baldur's Gate 3. If it's more comfortable, you can push an enemy away from you after attacking. If he succeeds (based on a Strength test), you disengage.
Help party members and cast healing potions
When a party member is prone, you don't have to wait for them to succeed on their saving throws. You can ask another character to use the Help action to restore them to 1 HP (they will no longer be down). Alternatively, you can even throw a healing potion on the ground near them to bring them back to a conscious state.
This is also useful for ranged healing in the middle of a fight, although throwing something uses a full action for that turn.
This covers some of the more advanced combat tactics in Baldur's Gate 3. Be sure to check out my linked combat basics guide at the top of this article. If you found this guide useful, please consider sharing it with other players. For more on BG3, including builds, head over to our RPG tips page.
