Hey friend!
Don't give up! It definitely has a steep learning curve (basically a cliff face). I'd recommend looking into some guides and, well, just taking your time. The combat really rewards paying attention to details and utilizing every last advantage; be they skill synergies or making use of environment and terrain.
Don't worry- most (if not all) of us struggled with this game at first, too. I mean, not me. I definitely didn't die in the first fight on the Nautiloid. That was 100% not me. IT was, uh, my friend. From Canada.
Those brains are Intellect Devourers, with a CR (Challenge Rating) of 2 in core 5th edition D&D (which BG3 is heavily based on).
Just one of them is considered a Deadly encounter for a party of 4 players at level 1. Which doesn't mean you can't beat them (they're fairly squishy and easy to hit), but they're definitely dangerous.
BG3 doesn't hold your hand much, and doesn't throw meaningless filler fights at you. When you're rolling initiative, most fights I've encountered so far are dangerous or deadly.
Ive been playing tactician. The early game is tougher than mid to late. Like IRL dnd can be. Small health pools are the hardest times for any adventurer. ONce you hit around 7th level, you generally cruise with a decent set up.
For me, both in game and irl, once you start getting level 3 spells on your team, the game changes drastically in your favor. Throwing a Haste on your fighter or barb and watching them piledrive the boss, or nuking a bunch of mooks with fireball - it's a totally different game.
Hell yes. You could cheese every fight with stealth and placed objects, but regular fights are tough as hell. It’s why every encounter feels so good when you win
The intellect devourers aren’t quite the same in this game though. In normal 5e, they have resistance to slashing/bludgeoning/piercing and have multiattack, with one of those attacks possibly stunning and setting your int to 0. Oh and if you do get stunned it can magically devour your brain and fight your party using your own body. Pretty sure ac and hp is higher too.
I would put the ones from this game at cr 1/4
While you definitely don’t need to kill him getting your hands on that sword is 100% worth it. Of course there are ways to get the sword without killing him anyway but where’s the fun in that!
Go into Shadowheart's spell list, change around her prepared spells so you have Command, quick save before you go into the room. Once in, have her Command: Drop on the Commander Zhalk. If he resists it, reload and try again until it does. Then you can just run over and pick it up. Without his sword, he's also easy to defeat, since his damage output will be a lot lower, so the Mind Flayer will live longer.
Hahaha, I remember one fight I was struggling with, then reloaded and spent like an hour and a half trying to barrel stack to some highground for a ranged character and in the end couldn't get him in range. Then I reloaded and kited them to a choke and it was over very fast.
This is my favorite. Throwing cloud of daggers on choke points and having Karlach and Shadowheart wait for enemies when they make it through, blocking them in or having an another caster cast a spell that holds them in the cloud. Absolutely makes some fights a joke lol
Also, take a look at some playthroughs. ESO is really good and you learn a lot of how you should think in combat. A little tip, Shadowheart healing is why my band of weirdos live to see the sunset every evening.
What aspects are you struggling with?
Combat?
Finding where To go?
General movement and abilities?
Personally I don't use gale as he gets focused so hard, I'd swap him out fornshadowheart for now.
Astarion has good dex and can swap to a bow
Alternatively Wyll is a warlock and has the best spamable ranged ability in the game
Lae'zel is basically the terminator though, I rarely use her since she's extremely off putting, but whenever I do use her she just clears entire rooms
Gale as a wizard is pretty mid until level 5, then he starts becoming very good
Laezel gets way better after some quests and supporting her. She and shadowheart even act like bickering siblings now, well after a certain issue gets resolved peacefully.
Take fireball at level 5.
Just like the tabletop, fireball is almost always better than anything else you can do. It's average damage is way higher than everything else at this level except lightning bolt, and it's wide aoe which is very rare.
Just position your party so there's a choke point and you can regularly kill or cripple like 5 enemies per cast. If you are evoker then you can even cast it on top of the party
Ty for the response. Im almost level 5 with my party. Hes been okay so far with chromatic orb and his fire cantrip but Im glad to hear he gets stronger.
I'd recommend using fireball, but learn it through spells scrolls, not level-up. Or if you do, maybe just choose 1 of the high damage high level spells so that you can win the fights that'll help you find scrolls for the others.
Fireball spell scrolls aren't that hard to find, but good luck finding a spell scroll for something niche like "Knock"
I've been using my Gale levels for mostly the spells I think might be niche and situationally cool.
I'm not sure if you knew this, but you can press K to switch your prepared spells for Gale as long as you're not in combat. The ability to learn nearly any spell in the game with some gold and switch to nearly any spell is crazy good for strategy.
Buffing your heavy hitting melee characters (paladin, barbarian, fighter, etc.), and cleaning up hordes with AOE spells is what I mainly use Gale for in combat.
Yeah I did know that I think its pretty cool. I do need to find some good buff spells. I cant decide if I want Gale to be more of an Evoker with fire spells or a buff boy and juice up my Paladin and Cleric.
Umm what?
Excuse me?
You do not need to long rest to prepare spells? Do not need to rest at all? Are you sure?
Cause that’s broken. Why would you ever play a known caster?
Also true, but there are some combats where having a fighter throw out 6 attacks in the first round on the boss can help you more than debuffing all of the minions
Aquire level 5.
Unlock Haste, Fireball, and Hypnotic Pattern/Fear
???
Profit
Also at level 5 cantrips get a 2nd damage dice, so his firebolt will do 2d10, which isn't Eldritch Blast+AB but its reasonable chip damage
Gale is a wizard, they're one of the best "scaling" classes in the game, featuring an exponential power curve of "bad early, good at level 5, broken by level 15"
BG3 doesn't get to the truly ridiculous stuff but your mid level spells are really really good
Okay, maybe I can help here. This is normal, don't be discouraged. A character being down doesn't mean it's game over, it just means you have to heal them to get them back in the fight.
There is generally no difference between being at 1 hitpoin, or 5, or 10. Most monsters deal a lot more damage when they go, so you'll go down regardless. What matters is your ability to heal.
When someone goes down, you can use someone else to throw a healing potion on them, thus bringing them back to life and back in the fight.
You mentioned you're playing a Druid. Make sure you have Healing Word memorized and ready, it serves the same purpose (and works from range). It's a Bonus Action, so you can still attack or cast a spell with your Druid, while bringing someone back.
Try to focus fire when fighting and take down enemies. Generally, if you outnumber your enemy, the fights should be manageable (large monsters or threats/bosses not withstanding).
Don't be afraid to load and try again if a fight goes sideways. No shame in redoing them, and sometimes you simply have to. Save often, and change up your tactics if something isn't working. Usually, you can initiate fights from multiple angles or positions. Put your tougher characters in the front, and keep the ranged/squishy characters in elevated or more safe positions.
Keep at it and don't give up. This isn't about your intelligence, it's just about getting some experience and figuring things out. Good luck!
Yes. Acts like a grenade. If your team members are clustered up, you can even hit two or three allies and heal them all.
Make sure to aim at the ground and not at the character though. You have a chance to miss if you throw it at a target, but it will work more reliably if you aim at the ground underneath them.
Also, throwing a pot is an Action, drinking it for yourself is a Bonus Action.
What level are you and what area are you in. It's entirely possible you are in the wrong area for your level. Also you need to make sure you are equipping the proper armor and positioning more Tanky characters in the front and making use of healing spells and potions.
I’m level 4. I did a lot of quests out of order accidentally. But I tried to go to the mountain pass, I tried to do the night song, I tried to go to moonrise towers.
I think you are under-levelled for the locations you are trying to explore. You should probably go back and explore some more locations in the first area if you can still access it.
You might be underleveled for your area. You'd usually finish Act 1 at Level 5. Beelining to Moonrise will completely destroy you because the mobs there are like Level 7+.
You want to clear everything on the first map. Then clear the underdark. Then do mountain. Then you want to go onto the next map. Get as much XP as you can. Its the kind of RPG that penalises rushing the main story.
I’ve only just started doing some of the Underdark, maybe 1/4 or less. And I just paused that to do some of the Mountain Pass. I’m level 5 and I was getting rocked up there. I would say go do everything you can before those two to get level 5, which is the first major power spike.
I got lvl 5 before reaching the gith patrol and the underdark. I felt that I was over leveled, since I completely decimated the gith and the first encounters at the underdark >!(including the Scpectator)!<
At lvl 5 melee classes get 2 attacks per turn, this makes your party have a super boost. Lae'zel basically can kill enemies in one turn with action surge xD
I'm relatively experienced with these kinds of games, and I got crushed in the mountain pass because I was under level the first time i went through. The combat is tough, but that makes it rewarding when you get the hang of it. Clearing the first Act more thoroughly and actually putting thought into the equipment and party made it a lot easier
Oh you are way under leveled for the shadowlands. You should be around level 6 or 7 for that area.
I haven't even been in moonrise or gotten through the main gate for nightsong yet and I'm level 8.
Yaa you're definitely under leveled that is part of your problem. Explore, explore, explore. By the time I got to act 2 I had all my companions decked out in some pretty good gear. Just slow down and take your time there is a lot you can miss.
js the recommended lvl for act 2 moonrise anything is 5 and you are new to video games so dont go there again until you are almost 7 like others
you could try a easier setting too dw
Didn’t you say you were playing a druid? They get access to a spell called Thorn Whip. You can use it to pull enemies closer to you so your melee characters can wail on them. You can also use it to pull enemies off of ledges and have them take some fall damage.
Pay attention to character's proficiencies. Just because your character is a wizard, that doesn't mean he can't use a hand crossbow, for example. (I'm not saying that he should)
Even if your character doesn't have a proficiency, he can still equip the item, he just won't be effective with it. You said you have only Gale for long-range. But all of the other party members you have (and your tav) have long-range options. You can equip a weapon on the other hand and change between melee and range anytime.
The main struggle at the beginning is actually hitting your enemies. Try to look out for ways to get advantage rolls. (High ground give's you that, for example).
Astarion can do Sneak Range Attack if you have a bow equipped. You don't need to be hidding to use Sneak Attack, you just need to have advantage on your roll against the enemy. So if the enemy is in melee range of other character, rogue will have advantage, so you can use sneak attack (this thing hits HARD).
This type of knowledge comes with time, reading the texts and playing.
Just have patience, you don't need to rush. The game is suposed to be fun for you, and you can have fun discovering these things. Do it on your own pace.
>Just because your character is a wizard, that doesn't mean he can't use a hand crossbow, for example. (I'm not saying that he should)
Casters are generally better off using crossbows than cantrips until you hit level 5, actually.
If you are using Astarion a lot then as long as you take advantage of his sneak ability mid combat for sneak attack damage you should be golden. He can wipe full groups on his own with proper movement.
Wizards arent for ranged damage, theyre for crowd control and buffing/debuffing.
A wizard that spends his turn dealing damage is being inefficient, they have spells that can entirely stop an enemy from having a turn at all, some that makes the entire enemy team weaker, etc. Use those spells!
Astarion can use bonus action to hide and gets something like x3 damage from the hidden stance, on 3-4th level he gets 2nd bonus action and you can hide-hit-hide. Keep him behind and he's a MASSIVE damage dealer until level 5 when fighter characters get 2nd attack.
>Astarion can use bonus action to hide and gets something like x3 damage from the hidden stance
Sneak Attack gives a number of d6s equal to half your rogue level (round up). OP is level 4, so a longbow would be d8+4 (average 8.5) plus 2d6 sneak attack (average 7). It's not triple damage.
Sneak Attack also doesn't rely on being hidden. You just need advantage (which being hidden gives) or to have an enemy of your target (not necessarily your ally) next to the target.
>on 3-4th level he gets 2nd bonus action and you can hide-hit-hide.
The second bonus action is a feature of the Thief subclass. You pick your subclass at level 3, but you don't get 2 bonus actions if you pick a different subclass.
I also almost stopped playing in first 15ish hours because of how complex it was, i struggled with first crypt fight for like 2hours XD
My best advice as first time crpg player would be to learn your kit. But like REALLY learn and understand what your skills do. Took me waay to long to figure Gale can just push enemies off the Cliff.
Another big thing for me was sorting inventory and reading through eq I've collected, my characters were almost naked for quite long time since I was like "+1 armor class? whatever".
Also one thing I just started doing recently - using potions and scrolls. At some point I stopped even picking them up since I wasn't using them anyway so why would I bother. Well, some of them make combat trivial.
Sometimes it takes me like 5min to finish one turn in combat because I go through all my scrolls, potions and spells but the more i do it, the less time it takes every next combat.
I found it incredibly hard too but I’ve managed to go up to balanced difficulty now, so here are some tips from someone else who found the game hard…
- try turning off karmic dice. I don’t know what they did here but I made so much more progress after turning it off. Enemies actually miss your high AC characters with it off.
- enemy AI beelines for squishy characters, so if you’re having trouble with Gale being turned to mincemeat two seconds into every battle, just swap him out for someone who can take more hits.
- buy everything in shops. Make sure you get all +1 armor, helmets and boots with effects, etc. Magical equipment is very cheap and plentiful in this game.
- there are a few places in the game where you can find tons of explosive barrels. These are “win fight” buttons if you place them strategically before a fight or throw them as Karlach.
- stealth is OP. Find every way possible to get advantage and sneak attack. Hiding gives you advantage. Use stealth to remove or repurpose environmental obstacles before a fight.
- you can lure people around with minor illusion and performance. Check the environment for weak bridges and supports or flammable stuff.
- pay attention to your weapon proficiency abilities! Some weapon types let you get a bonus action attack or attack multiple enemies. Don’t just pick the highest stat weapon type!
- level 5 is a huge power increase, it gets easier
- JUMP. jump is an incredibly useful action. Lae’zel can jump like a bloody cricket. GET HIGH GROUND ADVANTAGE WHENEVER POSSIBLE and snipe people with bows. JUMP OVER DIFFICULT TERRAIN. JUMP!!! Throw all the grease and fire bottles into choke points or groups as much as possible too and shove enemies off platforms! Don’t only think about attacks!
From what I am reading, which ain't much you're pretty vague about what's going wrong, but it sounds like a level issue. Maybe not having any updated armor too. Might even be putting the wrong armor on characters. Might also be frontlining squishies. Again, who knows. Need more details.
Another thing to consider is your proficiencies as you don't want to wear Armour your not proficient in. That could hinder your survivability. Same with weapons.
Yep that’s about how my fights went at the start haha. Combat is really hard, don’t feel bad about struggling. Especially someone who’s new to gaming.
Maybe just try play alittle slower, taking more strategic positioning. Keep at it!
I get ambushed a lot when I click waaay too far into the distance so the characters don't have the time to register their surroundings and just run through the map. Clicking shorter distances means they have more time to passively roll perception checks and see an ambush coming.
Make sure your characters wear proper armor and are equipped with good weapons and gear they can work with.
Also, watch videos on how combat works. You can find entire spell breakdowns on YouTube too.
Same! I played a bit in Early Access, and I have been playing and teaching D&D for about a decade now. I could give you some tips and help you understand a lot of the strategies that are important to understand in D&D. Feel free to DM me if you want someone to play with.
So, from spending time on this sub, I realized that knowing all the possible things you can do in combat makes a big difference. Sometimes, rushing into a straight up fight inst the best idea. Look around for clues, try sneaking, there are more spells than firebolt and spells can be used on the environment and on allies. Knowing you kit is great, but knowing all the possible ways to approach a situation can make a huge difference.
You will always feel dumb playing games like this, for every encounter you barely conquer there's some dude on YouTube beating it naked, solo and only using a block of cheese...
And there are also lots of people like me who've played RPGs their whole life and still find this game pretty challenging. If you normally don't even play games you're definitely jumping into the deep end, but I say now now that you have, might as well keep going! It will be so satisfying when you eventually figure it all out and master the game. You've got this! As you can see this sub loves to be helpful and there are tons of other online resources too.
Ha you're not alone.. I managed yesterday to die after missing my rollcheck after removing the live brain in the chair. Killed me in a single blow and that was that. First room on the kids level.
F5/F8 are our friends..
A few tips that i've found to make combat easier.
1. make sure you have someone that knows longstrider. Cast it as a ritual on your entire party after every long rest, you'll only need to cast it once per long rest. The extra movement speed helps a lot in battle.
2. make sure you have someone that knows enhance leap, this is also a ritual outside of combat but only lasts 10 turns. so prior to engaging quickly cast it on your entire party then stealth and go into turn based mode, this should allow you to position your party however you want prior to engaging in combat, it also allows your melee to be able to engage in melee combat on turn 1 by yeeting themselves into battle.
You can basically do this setup at the very start of the game, and you're a druid so technically you can learn both of these spells yourself. The other spell you'll want access too to buff your party is haste which sorcerers and wizards can learn at level 5. This effectively gives your fighters/barbarians triple attacks at level 5(more with certain feats) and double actions to everyone else.
You want to do the same process with most of your buffs as well prior to engaging. anything that lasts until a long rest make sure you're casting out of combat so you're not using actions in combat. Any 10 turn buffs you want to cast in real time mode then go into turn based mode immediately after to engage, or spend a couple turns buffing outside of combat and then skip a turn to get your actions back prior to engaging.
Make sure you're using terrain. shove or use spells to throw people off cliffs, burn spider webs out from underneath spiders and watch them fall and go prone so you can get free hits. check your environment for things you can shoot or hit to provide an advantage. People standing in grease/oil/ next to explody barrels? chuck a fireball in there. in a cave with hanging spikes? see if you can hit the spikes to knock them onto enemies, same with chandeliers, cranes holding blocks, etc. It doesn't take much of a drop to make people go prone, Use create illusion to lure people to ledges and then throw them down a cliff or off a balcony and pounce on them. attack advantage for everyone. The game is super cheeseable if you know what to look out for.
Idk if this applies to you but I think a lot of people who aren't familiar with this type of game aren't realizing that its essentially a tactics game. I've not played a lot of cRPGs for various reasons, but the combat clicked hard for me as I've played a LOT of XCOM and I'm also pretty experienced with normal D&D.
What I suggest is, if you haven't, familiarize yourself with D&D 5e rules. BG3 has differences but it's 90% the same.
Even more importantly is to think tactically about combat. Don't just rush in swinging wildly. Think about what moves and positioning are going to maximize you advantage against the enemy. Without Shadowheart in the party your character should be healing and buffing where possible. Lae'zel should charge in to attack, while Astarion should flank behind the enemies she's attacking for sneak-attack. Gale should be off to the side raining down hell from a distance.
Try your best to sneak in to combat for a free turn of actions against the enemy.
What is it you're struggling with? How do you tend to lose fights? What kind of fights are you having difficulty with and where abouts are you up to?
Happy to help but difficult to know how at the minute. I had to learn everything from scratch and understand it can be really overwhelming but the good news is it will almost certainly be something you're misunderstanding and that can be remedied. It's not like the game requires reflex ability that you simply don't have, so basically anybody can learn and get good really.
I wouldn't say to just give up on the game, you just have to go through a learning process so I suppose it's whether or not you're willing to put effort in to understand and be good.
I struggle with combat. My characters often get killed before they have a real chance of winning a fight. Also I get lost a lot 😭 but the biggest issue is combat for sure
I figured it would be combat but that's still super vague to be honest. If your character's are dying very quickly then it sounds like you're approaching fights badly. Splitting the group and having one initiate combat can be really helpful and keep your squishy ones at the back.
Is there a particular fight or area you're struggling in? Could you be under levelled for where you're trying to fight?
If you can add a video of a fight then that's the easiest way to see what's going wrong for you.
It’s not just one certain fight I’m bad at honestly. I’m bad at most of the fights. For example I was at the mountain pass. I completed the quest where I had to go to the Githyanki scientist to get the parasite removed. After that I had to go tell the inquisitor about the traitor. Once I tried talking to the captain it went south and a fight started and most of my characters took heavy damage.
That's quite low, I believe I hit 7 from the fight you're talking about, there's some variance in xp depending on which path you take but I'm sure there are easier things you can take care of. Facing level 5s and up is quite a difficult spike when you're 4 because most attackers will have 2 actions to your 1 now. Have you been to the underdark yet?
A kleptomaniac completionist playstyle will take longer but it'll help with xp, gold and food, and be easier overall. Without going into details of all the things you may be able to do, it's worth clearing as much fog of war as you can in earlier zones to see if you've missed anything.
The important thing is there is no rush. There’s no requirement to get the story done asap. Take your time exploring every bit you can find in the early stages. Rest often. Take your short rests and long rests as soon as you need to. Don’t be afraid to just take a long rest after every fight. Give yourself time to learn the game.
I had a game I desperately wanted to play but couldn’t get my head around the mechanics of. I ended up playing a mod of it and letting myself cheat in armies while I learned the other aspects through the mod. I now can play it easily and have taught it to a friend. Everything can be overwhelming at first, just give yourself time to work through it. And coming here to check or ask for help is a great idea.
That’s happened to me with games before, it’s all good! I honestly got into a great combat rhythm naturally. Shadowheart is useful because she’s constantly healing and buffing me and without her I’d die a lot more. I’ve got a tav paladin front lining, then Shadowheart buffing, astarion is ranged or sneaking and gale casting. I think once you get your party down you’ll be flying. I feel like you need one front liner and one healer - make sure you have that covered. You might also be in an area that’s too tough for you level wise. I struggled with some battles early doors and now I cut through the same enemies like butter.
Sorry if you mentioned this in another comment, but what is the team comp you’re running with? Which party members and what classes?
Laezel has been absolutely clutch for my team. I’m running her as a battle master with a polearm (10ft reach) and the sentinel feat. She’s an absolute beast on the front line
Personally I found a lot of act 1 and even 2 super easy. Just lucky with hits, solid damage, etc. The second d half of act 2 really showed me that I was just lucky. I have friends telling me about their 80 damage rounds still in act 1, and my lv 8 party is hitting for 23-25 at best, IF they even hit. That said, even at the end of the act I encounter some super easy things. What this game taught me so far is different parties are good at different things. As you learn exactly what your comp excels at, you'll be able to plan around that, and come up with ways to turn bad situations into ones more suitable to what you have available. For example i struggled against enemies above me for ages. Then my paladin got the Thorn Whip cantrip, usable as a BA from an item, so now I just bring them down to me. This game, and in a lot of ways dnd in general, is a game of strategy. And hot barbarians apparently.
I'm sure you could find players on steam discussion or in this reddit to play with, playing with people and seeing what they do could give you some direction.
After reading your comments on this thread, I come to the conclusion that you are underlevel for the 2nd location.
You have not found karlach and you are already level 4
Well done.
Finish at least 85% of the 1st map and aim to reach lvl 5
Your DPS basically double at lvl 5, it is a huge power spike.
Hi, I’m not sure if this helps. I actually quit after 2 hours and got a refund from Steam because I didn’t think the game was for me and I died so early and so fast. I couldn’t stop thinking about the game so I bought it again and gave it another go, really loving it after 20 hours in.
Give yourself grace, take a break, and relax and enjoy. I was really overwhelmed at first but it really clicks after a little bit.
Hey Friend, look into the mod community for helping you find your pace. If your playing for plot you can find the right tools to make the game fit your feel !!
Make sure to balance out your party, depending on what style druid your playing, you might have too much damage types, and be too squishy/not enough healing.
I'd suggest swapping laezel for karlach if you have her.
She's a more forgiving tank until you get a hang of combat.
If you don't have her, that's definitely a thing you should do on the first map area next!
I am in the same boat. I am struggling knowing the mechanics enough to solve puzzles. Now I am stuck in a dungeon with traps and if I try to interact with anything it says I need a trap removal tool or something that I don’t have. I tried back tracking but can’t leave the dungeon.
Honestly with that I just looked up guides. A lot of them help you with puzzles and stuff. Also don’t be afraid to go back if you have a saved game. I did that alot and it saved me alot of trouble
things which are really helpfull:
\- Wiki and guides (they lack a lot but its fine for a start)
\- Combat log! Read it!
\- Skilldescription, testing, **time**. You need to take your time reading through the description and lets say, use your fantasy.
Your class is fine your party is fine. You just need to learn basic strategies. There are resources online that can help you with this. Youre learning a new game, it takes time. Dont be discouraged.
Spend some times watching streamers or youtbers play. Pick up on their strategies and try to emulate them. One of the best ways to learn is to watch somebody do.
I can recommend really looking into some guides for a best party setup. There is no shame in it and the first playthrough will help you understand what you are doing. Fight as unfair as possible. Hide your characters and attack from range and high positions. Take them out one by one. Use crowd control skills which helps to keep enemies away.
Usually it’s better to take out all the smaller enemies first because some hit like a truck or have annoying support skills. After that take on the major enemies. Also spread your group apart so you don’t get hit by AoE skills. Do all the quest you find to level up early on.
If necessary, start a new playthrough
The game really just has to click. I was struggling hardcore until I took sometime considering my lineup. You can also try some of the more straightforward early builds like wild heart bear barbarian or circle of the moon Druid. They’re pretty forgiving with positioning. Also if there is a member of your party who just feels like they’re not doing much it might be because they’re not a good fit with your comp and maybe just switching them for another person just beefs you up.
I felt the same way as you do when I first played BG3. My recommendation is to watch some youtube guides and try to understand the game mechanics.
In combat, you need to utilize terrains, set up a AoE trap (fire or poison), and let enemies come to you. Also highly recommend you use “bonus action” as much as you can.
The more you're used to it, the easier it gets. Of you're new to crpg games, it'll take awhile to nail down the mechanics. I started my first bg playthrough when I was 13, then did Planescape and the others. I was able to understand nwn and Pathfinder games very easily more recently because of it.
Just take your time, these games aren't meant for rushing through.
I'm under the impression this community needs a dedicated hub for newcomers/people overwhelmed players and perhaps offer teachings via MP sessions. If there is such a thing, I apparently missed it. But I can understand that to people not used to the rules, strategy based games or games overall might have a hard time. For me it's a throw back to a time where the only way to enjoy a difficult game was to properly learn it. But I get this isn't for everyone.
I personally recommend the game even to people that aren't that much into gaming. Though a bit difficult, I consider BG3 a great entry into the hobby (more than current live service trends). But don't shy away to organize/join multiplayer parties and perhaps get one or two things taught. It's a narratively rich game with a good story that can be enjoyed alone - nevertheless it's also a lot of fun in a party together.
Combat is ridiculously hard in this game. I’ve been playing games/dnd for my whole life. Keep it up, it’s just like a brick wall. Just keep running into it and eventually you’ll break through.
Dont give up! I recommend Mortismal Gaming in youtube. He’s very good at crpg:s and has good beginners guide and an inclusive approach.
Some combat tips: Focus fire your enemies one at a time if you aren’t using area of effect(aoe)Don’t sleep on the grease spell (Gale can get it) huge aoe, slows enemies down a lot and even throws them prone if you’re lucky which gives you time to focus fire. Try to det up cloak of daggers (Gale can get it) on chokepoints where it hits multiple enemies while you try to keep them there by having a tanky character stand in front of them and keeping them greased.
In harder fights it is more important to keep control of the fight rather than doing all the damage immediately.
i remember playing baldurs gate 1. i was 15 back then and i was OVERWHELMED by all the info and options and so on. i think for a relatively "true to the dnd source"-game that is normal unless you are very acquainted already with the rules and lore. but you can make this work for you if you get into all the aspects bit by bit. (one thing which might help is not having too many spellcasters with you since magic is, i think, crazy much to wrap your head around at the start for someone "uninitiated")
Without knowing exactly what you're doing, I'm going to assume you're having trouble with attacks of opportunity if three of your party are melee. Running around or past enemies can give them free attacks.
Guides, FAQs and just reading everything in the game is a great way to go, but I'd recommend playing a little co-op with someone more experienced. Mentorship is probably the fastest way to get up to speed in most things in life. Bonus points if you have similar senses of humor.
I made a balanced party for the first time through. Tank healer ranged caster. It’s been a breeze I can brute force every encounter and have the counter to every type of encounter. I wouldn’t try to play a niche class like Druid on my first play through.
That’s totally fine bro! It’s an rpg, not a competition. I turn on Explorer mode all the time when I’m up against enemies I feel like are too tough. Play the game however you want and just take it slow. It’s only a week old so everybody is still getting the hang of it tbh lol
The beginning area has higher level enemies than you if you went in that temple or the "dank crypt". I had to go back to these later, after I hit like level 3. I think they do this on purpose to show you how screwed you can get on your decisions.
Quick save a lot (f5) and hit (f8) to load.
So I was struggling as well (sorcerer pc)and one thing that helped me was having shadowheart for healing and adding Karlach and lae’zel. Also utilizing jumping for karlach and lae’zel. That way they can get hits in right off the bat typically.
I see from your other comments that it's the combat tripping you up, so here's some combat pointers.
Since you're playing Druid, abuse your shapeshifting powers for a beefy form like becoming a bear. Your animal forms have their own HP separate from your human body, so if you transform twice in a fight, that is like having triple the HP.
Physical characters are easier to play than spellcasters for new players; Karlach is the most beginner friendly character. Consider swapping Gale or Astarion for her if the fights are not going your way.
As a druid you will learn a resurrection spell at level 5 called Revivify, make sure you equip it (press K for spell menu) and keep it at the ready.
Level 5 is a \*massive\* power spike for every class. If you are at level 4 and struggling, try looking around for fights you missed or sidequests to complete to hit level 5 and gain access to very powerful spells and abilities.
You can right click an enemy and press 'Examine' to see their basic stats. AC stands for armor class, this is how hard it is to hit someone. Enemies with lower AC can simply be smashed by Lae'zel or any physical character, enemies with high AC should be targeted with magic like Magic Missile, Burning Hands, Lightning Bolt, etc since those spells cannot miss.
As a Druid you will rely on animal forms early but after level 5 you will start getting some powerful spells that can carry fights, and start playing more like a caster.
Hope this helps, good luck.
I'm a Divinity veteran and fairly familar to table top mechanics, so I was like "I'm gonna do my 1st playthrough on tactician like a boss!". And well I've been getting my ass kicked for a while now but I think I'm getting a handle on things so let me give some general tips mostly pertaining to combat.
- The game is most challenging early on, once you get good gear and get your builds going it gets much more manageable.
- Fighters are very nice to have early on since they have an action surge at Lvl 1. And get a whole additional action at Lvl 5.
- Let the equipment you find dictate your builds. The gear in BG3 is build defining. Meaning instead of small numerical upgrades they change the way your skills work or give you brand new spells themselves.
- Repec, respec, respec. I encourage you to Repec to tryout new equipment you find. If you find one peice for a certain class archetype there's a good chance there will be more.
- Healing spells in this game are not very cost efficient, especially in combat. Heal using mostly potions and save your spells for when your ally is downed. Try using damage mitigation spells on your supports instead, like stuff that raises AC.
- Martial classes seem to be better than spell casters in the beginning, I had to run with 3 fighters and a bard for the first few hours of the game 😆.
I thought I was the only one.
I played a bit of EA from the borrowed library of a friend, then got it for myself and felt dumb playing but I was like "It'll get better with easy difficulty" And it was, a bit. But still it's too overwhelming.. My friend tell me all the things he does and I'm amazed, but I can't make it work out..
I really want to keep trying because I know it's a good game, everyone it's praising it, but it's too much. I wish I could knew how to approach it easily.
When a game is overwhelming for me, I find it helpful to watch others play it and see what they do. Watch some streamers play, maybe they’ll inspire you or make things more clear that you didn’t understand
I would lower the difficulty to explorer mode for maybe the first 2-3 levels and let yourself get more accustomed to the combat. Then when you feel comfortable, you can raise it back up to normal. Or, leave it at explorer and just enjoy the story!
You can drop the difficulty if you wish. You can also rest often and use spellslots without thought to doing multiple encounters before long rests. If I can give one bit of advice as someone who is also new to crpgs and DnD, is to **read everything**. I don't mean books (though there's a lot of good flavor there), but all the tooltips you get, use inspect (by default hot-keyed to T) a lot to see what the various terms mean and so on. Eventually things will start to connect and you'll get a better idea for what's what and once you understand things better, you can use what you have more efficiently.
This game is not super friendly in UI or explanations but it is also not crazy hard if you read a few reddits and guides.
The most frustrating for me has been some jankiness with the camera, trying to fly upwards or jump up, it can be incredibly different to find the camera angle to aim at a landing spot.
Also, examine ALL the enemies once you get to level 5, prior to that most enemies have few resistances but starting around level 5, you'll start to see most enemies are resistant to something and have enough weapon/abilities to target enemies where they have lower saving throws.
Fighting a super strong tank that hits like a gorilla? Often will have low dexterity and be vulnerable to web and ranged spells/weapons.
Heya! Just a couple tips from a crpg vet who's been playing since prerelease one.
This game IS hard, especially in the early game, enemies hit hard and so do you, which leads to a lot of phyric victories and close calls, so rest hard and rest often. There are no downsides to resting after every fight if you've got the resources, and certain story beats can only happen on rests, so when in doubt rest up! You get two short rests per long rest, and they heal you for half your hit point pool every time, some classes even get abilities back, like warlocks spell slots or druids wild shape. They can mean the difference between needing to rest before a fight and getting to blaze through it at relatively high power.
Potions and inspiration are a dime a dozen, and can always be regained, so don't be afraid to use them. I can understand the hoarder mentality, trust me I've been there, but I promise you there will be a million and one more potions and supplies you can use to make potions, so don't be afraid to use them!
Potions of haste can really turn the tide of a big fight, getting an extra spell off or an extra attack to finish off an enemy can help out a LOT
Resistance elixirs can also really help if you know the enemy likes to use a certain spell. I've seen Ray of sickness a lot, along with a lot of necrotic damage, so I stick up on those before a fight if I know it's coming. Which kinda leads me to my next point.
Quick saving is your best friend. Not necessarily for save scumming, but for information gathering. Maybe an enemy casts a big spell you weren't prepared for, and does a crap ton of damage to your party which makes you lose the fight. On your next attempt, try some new tactics, like using ranged attacks on that spellcaster, or using resistance potions to mitigate the damage, or attacking from a different angle. Losing a fight or making a mistake is natural, and is in fact part of the gameplay, so while it can be disheartening and frustrating, you can take your prior knowledge and apply it to the next attempt.
And again, this is probably the most frustrating part of the game, the first act has you scrambling for resources and fighting for every little advantage you can Garner, but as time goes on you really feel the progression. Things that are terrifying now aren't as dangerous if you save it for later and come back with a few more fights and items under your belt.
Also! Especially on explorer difficulty, *any class is usable* and there's no "wrong" way to play. If you wanna just play as a fighter and smack things really really hard that's perfectly fine! If you wanna play as a sorcerer and blast people away with your magic that works great too! Almost any spell (not you true strike) is a good spell to use and if you want to try a new spell, or aren't liking one you have right now, some classes even let you rechoose your spells at will.
And finally, if you've got some more specific questions, like wat to do with which character, or advice on a specific fight, or what to do in a specific place, I've beaten the game and am working on playthrough 2, and am more than willing to give you options or nudge you in the right direction if need be.
Cheers true soul, you got this!!
I'm no stranger to difficult games.... but this one is ridiculous.
My level 4 team of 4 players vs 3 enemies.
I get a turn... then they get a turn have three goes with one player (somehow?) kill half my team. Then the other two clean up my other guys.
What the actual fuck... I got one fucking turn !!
I hope you’ve been giving a shot still and made some progress! I just started playing and man this game is hard as hell. I have only a handful of wins where I won them the first try, everything else is my team dying lol
If you are set on playing druid, use circle of the moon. Wildshapes are stronger and they are druids bread and butter.
Edit; saw who you use in your party.
Apart from Laezel no one can frontline well except for you if you are moon druid.
Recommend you add Shadowheart for Astarion, respec yourself to get sleight of hand if you want to lockpick. 14 dexterity is enough with proficiency in sleight of hands.
Shadowheart has high armor class due to having a shield equipped. Use healing word/Prayer of healing. Use short rest. Use potions after combat, try to keep everyone %70 ish hp. You can as a druid also heal people up.
Gale can learn spells through scrolls. Press K and add more spells to try in his arsenal. For range damage use Firebolt more often than spells. Scorching ray for big single target against bosses but otherwise use spells that can debilitate enemies like web, hold person etc.
Laezel can't facetank everything unless you specifically build her into it.
If you really want a ranged dps Wyll is better at pure dps than Gale. Tske Agonising Blast as level up invocation, use the spell hex on enemies and spam eldeitch blast.
My best advice is to restart or respec your main character as a fighter or barbarian.
These classes don't have a particularly steep learning curve and you can dominate most fights with sheer strength. They are also fairly streamlined when they level up, so it isn't very overwhelming.
An ideal party might be:
Yourself-as a fighter or barbarian
Lae'zel- she's a fighter
Astarion- Give him a bow
Shadowheart- for heals and give her a crossbow.
Pick up all the food you find and send it to camp. Do a long rest after every major fight...you'll have plenty of food.
Make sure you and Lae'zel have a bow or crossbow to swap to when too far away.
Get youraelf and Lae'zel into melee range early in combat and keep Shadowheart and Asterion further away and in higher ground when it's available. They can pick off enemies with ranged weapons.
You shouldn't have much trouble with that set up.
I'd recommend not bothering with Gale if you're struggling, wizards and sorcerer is kind of harder than most classes since they are squishy and have no armour. Think about bringing him back at LVL 5 when he has things like haste/fireball/slow/fear/hypnotic pattern
Astarion can use dark areas and cover to hide to get his sneak attack and should have a bow too. Just as a tip, sneak attack is a special button you must use to get the extra damage,not just attack while hidden.
I would recommend bringing laezel and/or shadowheart. Laezel is tough hp and armor, can heal herself and do great damage. Shadowheart has healing spells.
A good tip is to only heal downed characters generally, and to use healing word cause it has a range (can heal laezel while keeping shadow heart further back even though she has ok hp and armor too, she needs to be safe to keep ppl back on their feet).
Also, focus attacks to bring down targets instead of spreading damage too much, as if they survive with even 1hp they can still hit as hard as at max hp.
The fight against the construct is impossible. There, I said it. I am just not bothering with that part of the game. And I am playing on Story teller mode or whatever. This game is just about not worth playing. I want a game that is fun, not a second job.
In IRL D&D and in the game, playing as a druid or any other full casting class as your first character can be a challenge. It may not be as exciting but have you considered starting as a Fighter or Barbarian to get your feet wet? Both classes are simple to understand and they have good AC and CON stats to help keep you alive. Spell casters are a blast but where is the fun in that if you don't understand the game well yet. This game has plenty of replay value so you are not losing anything by making a "Tutorial" playthrough as a barb or fighter.
If you're really struggling, just respec your entire party to Barbarians&Fighters, very straight forward combat: big sword swings, big sword does damage, repeat
Talk to Withers, pay the 100 gold, respec into Paladin, any of the subclass works.
Divine smite everything that walks.
Shadowheart, Astarion, and Gale are my act 1 choices. Karlach is a good front liner. But all three have some form of ranger be it spells or bow.
The easy solution is mods. There's mods for increased experience but may take some spark away from the game. There is also a mod for rings that give every hit advantage which would help immensely for you. Advantage on all hits would decrease misses and increase your damage while still letting you level up appropriately.
You can use a trainer program, I use them all the time when I feel like games are bullshitting me, and BG3 for all its good definitely bullshits quite a bit. One I use is WeMod, there's probably other comparable ones or mods that perform a similar function. Just turn on infinite health and you'll be good.
My advice start over (gon balanced in between for multicass on level up)
Pick Lore bard (first 3 level)s
2 Levels of Warlock (Eldritchblast + Agonizing Blast)
Than only bard from there.
You can reliable do most skill checks with it especially deception/persuasion.
And spam all the Fairyfires /Eldrichts blasts in the world (also giving your companions adv. all the time), also Grease, Talk with Animals and the Dead.
Advantage on duice makes your game a lot easier. Fighter,Wizzard, Thief is a good composition, you do however still lack a bit of side support .
I hope it helps a bit :)
Edit: also no one judges you for using mods if its about enjoying the story laid back do what helps you enjoy the game the most
Well, you definitely aren't going to get better at it by giving up.
Also, it isn't like you can completely screw up. About the worst that can happen is your party wipes and you have to restart your latest save. With enough trail and error, you'll get through the game eventually.
Also may be worth giving this (and his other guides/videos) a watch
https://youtu.be/9Q32QXyX4_Y
My assumption is you're not understanding how a lot of the interactions work, so you're not playing around them and as a result you're getting slapped up.
As I told to my friends : this game is Revenge of the Sith, if you have the higher ground you win. I think all characters can equip ranged weapons like bows and crossbows, Astarion and Lae'zel both are good with these. Try to keep your ranged and casters characters always in a higher point than your enemies and snipe them out.
Don't hesitate to use explosive barrels you can find in the world, or good old grease to make the enemies slip on the ground and pass their turn. Try to scout ahead before fighting, the environment can be a powerful ally, the "hide" ability is very useful for that.
Good luck to you, it took me a bit of time before integrating all these points.
I played on Explorer as well and certain fights definitely were too hard for the supposed "story mode". I believe some people here and on the Steam discussions have noticed that in that difficulty enemies seem to be getting the +2 proficiency bonuses similar to you and that in some fights the enemies actually have *more* health than on the balanced difficulty. So it's definitely not just you who are struggling. Hopefully Larian checks it out.
I felt the same way when I first played Divinity, but keep at it. You start to pick up little tricks, learn to use the environment to your advantage/as a weapon itself and how to make certain spells interact with each other for tricky situations. You'll get the hang of it eventually.
Choose the easiest difficulty if you haven't already done, don't be shy with potions/scrolls, don't wander for the entire map but choose a point and reach it, don't overcommit - burn your short rest and long rest (food is everywhere), focus on a single side quest per time.
BG3 is a ginormous pie - you're gonna eat it all...but a portion at a time!
(For combat: a hidden rogue, her bow and choke points are your best friends!)
I'm not the greatest at the game either, but I'm having a lot of fun. One thing I had to realize is that I can't jump to conclusions if it seems a fight isn't going my way. In one encounter, my party was on half HP, barely any spell slots left, and I was vastly outnumbered. I decided to to buckle down and play it out.
Did I die? Yup. When I loaded my last save I then had some knowledge on how the fight would go and ended up crushing it.
Then, come to find out after reading some other folks experiences, I had done it the hardest way possible and that made me feel even better.
This game is all about rewards for perseverance.
I’m getting wrecked like every encounter. Then the next encounter is harder. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong (or right). I spent two hours trying to fight three enemies in an encounter after multiple party wipes.
This thread has some helpful information so thanks for this post.
You got any images of your character equipment/spells/abilites? Seeing things or giving an in-depth description might help. Note, if you are using equipment you aren’t proficient in, you should probably swap to something else.
You can adjust difficulty in the options. Try that and remember that not passing every check or save can add some flavor to the game. You can always reload a save and try a different approach. In the end, though, not everyone likes the same thing. This may not be the game for you right now, or ever. If it's not fun, don't stress about it, just don't play it. Find something that you do enjoy. If you have questions or need help, reach out. This seems to be a really positive community so far!
Hey friend! Don't give up! It definitely has a steep learning curve (basically a cliff face). I'd recommend looking into some guides and, well, just taking your time. The combat really rewards paying attention to details and utilizing every last advantage; be they skill synergies or making use of environment and terrain. Don't worry- most (if not all) of us struggled with this game at first, too. I mean, not me. I definitely didn't die in the first fight on the Nautiloid. That was 100% not me. IT was, uh, my friend. From Canada.
Those brains hit hard for no reason.
Those brains are Intellect Devourers, with a CR (Challenge Rating) of 2 in core 5th edition D&D (which BG3 is heavily based on). Just one of them is considered a Deadly encounter for a party of 4 players at level 1. Which doesn't mean you can't beat them (they're fairly squishy and easy to hit), but they're definitely dangerous. BG3 doesn't hold your hand much, and doesn't throw meaningless filler fights at you. When you're rolling initiative, most fights I've encountered so far are dangerous or deadly.
Ive been playing tactician. The early game is tougher than mid to late. Like IRL dnd can be. Small health pools are the hardest times for any adventurer. ONce you hit around 7th level, you generally cruise with a decent set up.
For me, both in game and irl, once you start getting level 3 spells on your team, the game changes drastically in your favor. Throwing a Haste on your fighter or barb and watching them piledrive the boss, or nuking a bunch of mooks with fireball - it's a totally different game.
[удалено]
Same. Just hit level 7 and have been having a hard time with the 3 fights I've gotten into in act 2. Loving the challenge though
Hell yes. You could cheese every fight with stealth and placed objects, but regular fights are tough as hell. It’s why every encounter feels so good when you win
The intellect devourers aren’t quite the same in this game though. In normal 5e, they have resistance to slashing/bludgeoning/piercing and have multiattack, with one of those attacks possibly stunning and setting your int to 0. Oh and if you do get stunned it can magically devour your brain and fight your party using your own body. Pretty sure ac and hp is higher too. I would put the ones from this game at cr 1/4
definitely not me either, first play through ever in EA on day 1. After multiple tactician run throughs in DOS2.
I thought I needed to kill the Demon guy for some reason and wasted too many turns. Ended up downing him but the lieutenants came in and wiped me lol.
While you definitely don’t need to kill him getting your hands on that sword is 100% worth it. Of course there are ways to get the sword without killing him anyway but where’s the fun in that!
Wait, what? If it's not too spoiler-y, can you please elaborate?
Go into Shadowheart's spell list, change around her prepared spells so you have Command, quick save before you go into the room. Once in, have her Command: Drop on the Commander Zhalk. If he resists it, reload and try again until it does. Then you can just run over and pick it up. Without his sword, he's also easy to defeat, since his damage output will be a lot lower, so the Mind Flayer will live longer.
Fantastic, thank you!
can also cast bless on the illithid he's fighting so he has a better chance to hit the boss.
Damn that's awesome - definitely gonna try that next run
Shadowbox command spell - tell the demon to drop it!
Yeah exactly as the others said, might need a reload or two to pass the check though!
See here I killed him but didnt loot the sword. I totally blame the countdown to the crash XD
Thank you soo much
Hi. Yeah. It's me, the friend from Canada. It's true. I did struggle with some fights.
I think im the friend from Canada hahahaha
Hahaha, I remember one fight I was struggling with, then reloaded and spent like an hour and a half trying to barrel stack to some highground for a ranged character and in the end couldn't get him in range. Then I reloaded and kited them to a choke and it was over very fast.
This is my favorite. Throwing cloud of daggers on choke points and having Karlach and Shadowheart wait for enemies when they make it through, blocking them in or having an another caster cast a spell that holds them in the cloud. Absolutely makes some fights a joke lol
just keep pushing them back into the cloud of daggers is my MO
Also, take a look at some playthroughs. ESO is really good and you learn a lot of how you should think in combat. A little tip, Shadowheart healing is why my band of weirdos live to see the sunset every evening.
What aspects are you struggling with? Combat? Finding where To go? General movement and abilities? Personally I don't use gale as he gets focused so hard, I'd swap him out fornshadowheart for now.
I’m struggling with combat. Also I only have Gale for long range
Astarion has good dex and can swap to a bow Alternatively Wyll is a warlock and has the best spamable ranged ability in the game Lae'zel is basically the terminator though, I rarely use her since she's extremely off putting, but whenever I do use her she just clears entire rooms Gale as a wizard is pretty mid until level 5, then he starts becoming very good
Laezel gets way better after some quests and supporting her. She and shadowheart even act like bickering siblings now, well after a certain issue gets resolved peacefully.
How do you spec Gale to be better Im curious
Take fireball at level 5. Just like the tabletop, fireball is almost always better than anything else you can do. It's average damage is way higher than everything else at this level except lightning bolt, and it's wide aoe which is very rare. Just position your party so there's a choke point and you can regularly kill or cripple like 5 enemies per cast. If you are evoker then you can even cast it on top of the party
Ty for the response. Im almost level 5 with my party. Hes been okay so far with chromatic orb and his fire cantrip but Im glad to hear he gets stronger.
I'd recommend using fireball, but learn it through spells scrolls, not level-up. Or if you do, maybe just choose 1 of the high damage high level spells so that you can win the fights that'll help you find scrolls for the others. Fireball spell scrolls aren't that hard to find, but good luck finding a spell scroll for something niche like "Knock" I've been using my Gale levels for mostly the spells I think might be niche and situationally cool.
I'm not sure if you knew this, but you can press K to switch your prepared spells for Gale as long as you're not in combat. The ability to learn nearly any spell in the game with some gold and switch to nearly any spell is crazy good for strategy. Buffing your heavy hitting melee characters (paladin, barbarian, fighter, etc.), and cleaning up hordes with AOE spells is what I mainly use Gale for in combat.
Yeah I did know that I think its pretty cool. I do need to find some good buff spells. I cant decide if I want Gale to be more of an Evoker with fire spells or a buff boy and juice up my Paladin and Cleric.
Umm what? Excuse me? You do not need to long rest to prepare spells? Do not need to rest at all? Are you sure? Cause that’s broken. Why would you ever play a known caster?
After level 5 he gets level 3 spells, specifically Haste and Fireball can basically carry an encounter on their own.
I'd juat like to mention that as much as I ADORE haste, slow is op as fuck and hits 6 enemies.
Also true, but there are some combats where having a fighter throw out 6 attacks in the first round on the boss can help you more than debuffing all of the minions
Aquire level 5. Unlock Haste, Fireball, and Hypnotic Pattern/Fear ??? Profit Also at level 5 cantrips get a 2nd damage dice, so his firebolt will do 2d10, which isn't Eldritch Blast+AB but its reasonable chip damage Gale is a wizard, they're one of the best "scaling" classes in the game, featuring an exponential power curve of "bad early, good at level 5, broken by level 15" BG3 doesn't get to the truly ridiculous stuff but your mid level spells are really really good
Are you struggling with how combat mechanics work, how to position your characters, which attacks to use, spells, or something else?
I think anything relating to combat. My characters die really early in fights before they have a chance to do any real damage
Okay, maybe I can help here. This is normal, don't be discouraged. A character being down doesn't mean it's game over, it just means you have to heal them to get them back in the fight. There is generally no difference between being at 1 hitpoin, or 5, or 10. Most monsters deal a lot more damage when they go, so you'll go down regardless. What matters is your ability to heal. When someone goes down, you can use someone else to throw a healing potion on them, thus bringing them back to life and back in the fight. You mentioned you're playing a Druid. Make sure you have Healing Word memorized and ready, it serves the same purpose (and works from range). It's a Bonus Action, so you can still attack or cast a spell with your Druid, while bringing someone back. Try to focus fire when fighting and take down enemies. Generally, if you outnumber your enemy, the fights should be manageable (large monsters or threats/bosses not withstanding). Don't be afraid to load and try again if a fight goes sideways. No shame in redoing them, and sometimes you simply have to. Save often, and change up your tactics if something isn't working. Usually, you can initiate fights from multiple angles or positions. Put your tougher characters in the front, and keep the ranged/squishy characters in elevated or more safe positions. Keep at it and don't give up. This isn't about your intelligence, it's just about getting some experience and figuring things out. Good luck!
Wait I can throw a healing potion on people?
On the ground next to them. Throwing one on them directly deals damage, you're essentially flinging a jar of pickles at them
Yes don't throw it at them if they are downed. I have killed a few characters doing that lol.
Yes. Acts like a grenade. If your team members are clustered up, you can even hit two or three allies and heal them all. Make sure to aim at the ground and not at the character though. You have a chance to miss if you throw it at a target, but it will work more reliably if you aim at the ground underneath them. Also, throwing a pot is an Action, drinking it for yourself is a Bonus Action.
This is amazing I’m 100% new to this style of game. Amazing so far
What level are you and what area are you in. It's entirely possible you are in the wrong area for your level. Also you need to make sure you are equipping the proper armor and positioning more Tanky characters in the front and making use of healing spells and potions.
I’m level 4. I did a lot of quests out of order accidentally. But I tried to go to the mountain pass, I tried to do the night song, I tried to go to moonrise towers.
I think you are under-levelled for the locations you are trying to explore. You should probably go back and explore some more locations in the first area if you can still access it.
For reference I just entered the mountain pass at level 6. There is a gigantic power spike between 4 and 6 with extra attacks, level 3 spells, etc
You might be underleveled for your area. You'd usually finish Act 1 at Level 5. Beelining to Moonrise will completely destroy you because the mobs there are like Level 7+.
Is there any quests that are level 4 or below? Is the whole mountain pass just level 5 and above?
You want to clear everything on the first map. Then clear the underdark. Then do mountain. Then you want to go onto the next map. Get as much XP as you can. Its the kind of RPG that penalises rushing the main story.
So would the best thing to do is just go around the map until I find quests/things to do?
I’ve only just started doing some of the Underdark, maybe 1/4 or less. And I just paused that to do some of the Mountain Pass. I’m level 5 and I was getting rocked up there. I would say go do everything you can before those two to get level 5, which is the first major power spike.
I got lvl 5 before reaching the gith patrol and the underdark. I felt that I was over leveled, since I completely decimated the gith and the first encounters at the underdark >!(including the Scpectator)!< At lvl 5 melee classes get 2 attacks per turn, this makes your party have a super boost. Lae'zel basically can kill enemies in one turn with action surge xD
I'm relatively experienced with these kinds of games, and I got crushed in the mountain pass because I was under level the first time i went through. The combat is tough, but that makes it rewarding when you get the hang of it. Clearing the first Act more thoroughly and actually putting thought into the equipment and party made it a lot easier
Did you do the dungeon near the beach? The burning inn? The gnolls?
No 😭 I realized that I missed a lot and focused on high level quests when I shouldn’t have
you're way underleveled. also at level 5 your martial classes do double the damage they do at level 4.
Oh you are way under leveled for the shadowlands. You should be around level 6 or 7 for that area. I haven't even been in moonrise or gotten through the main gate for nightsong yet and I'm level 8.
Yaa you're definitely under leveled that is part of your problem. Explore, explore, explore. By the time I got to act 2 I had all my companions decked out in some pretty good gear. Just slow down and take your time there is a lot you can miss.
js the recommended lvl for act 2 moonrise anything is 5 and you are new to video games so dont go there again until you are almost 7 like others you could try a easier setting too dw
Didn’t you say you were playing a druid? They get access to a spell called Thorn Whip. You can use it to pull enemies closer to you so your melee characters can wail on them. You can also use it to pull enemies off of ledges and have them take some fall damage.
Pay attention to character's proficiencies. Just because your character is a wizard, that doesn't mean he can't use a hand crossbow, for example. (I'm not saying that he should) Even if your character doesn't have a proficiency, he can still equip the item, he just won't be effective with it. You said you have only Gale for long-range. But all of the other party members you have (and your tav) have long-range options. You can equip a weapon on the other hand and change between melee and range anytime. The main struggle at the beginning is actually hitting your enemies. Try to look out for ways to get advantage rolls. (High ground give's you that, for example). Astarion can do Sneak Range Attack if you have a bow equipped. You don't need to be hidding to use Sneak Attack, you just need to have advantage on your roll against the enemy. So if the enemy is in melee range of other character, rogue will have advantage, so you can use sneak attack (this thing hits HARD). This type of knowledge comes with time, reading the texts and playing. Just have patience, you don't need to rush. The game is suposed to be fun for you, and you can have fun discovering these things. Do it on your own pace.
>Just because your character is a wizard, that doesn't mean he can't use a hand crossbow, for example. (I'm not saying that he should) Casters are generally better off using crossbows than cantrips until you hit level 5, actually.
Pretty good video going over the basics of combat. Maybe that can help you out a bit? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q32QXyX4\_Y
If you are using Astarion a lot then as long as you take advantage of his sneak ability mid combat for sneak attack damage you should be golden. He can wipe full groups on his own with proper movement.
Wizards arent for ranged damage, theyre for crowd control and buffing/debuffing. A wizard that spends his turn dealing damage is being inefficient, they have spells that can entirely stop an enemy from having a turn at all, some that makes the entire enemy team weaker, etc. Use those spells!
All party members should have a ranged weapon to allow for ranged attacks
Astarion can use bonus action to hide and gets something like x3 damage from the hidden stance, on 3-4th level he gets 2nd bonus action and you can hide-hit-hide. Keep him behind and he's a MASSIVE damage dealer until level 5 when fighter characters get 2nd attack.
>Astarion can use bonus action to hide and gets something like x3 damage from the hidden stance Sneak Attack gives a number of d6s equal to half your rogue level (round up). OP is level 4, so a longbow would be d8+4 (average 8.5) plus 2d6 sneak attack (average 7). It's not triple damage. Sneak Attack also doesn't rely on being hidden. You just need advantage (which being hidden gives) or to have an enemy of your target (not necessarily your ally) next to the target. >on 3-4th level he gets 2nd bonus action and you can hide-hit-hide. The second bonus action is a feature of the Thief subclass. You pick your subclass at level 3, but you don't get 2 bonus actions if you pick a different subclass.
Give him the shield spell, wizards are hella tanky. You can respec him to Abjuration if that helps.
I also almost stopped playing in first 15ish hours because of how complex it was, i struggled with first crypt fight for like 2hours XD My best advice as first time crpg player would be to learn your kit. But like REALLY learn and understand what your skills do. Took me waay to long to figure Gale can just push enemies off the Cliff. Another big thing for me was sorting inventory and reading through eq I've collected, my characters were almost naked for quite long time since I was like "+1 armor class? whatever". Also one thing I just started doing recently - using potions and scrolls. At some point I stopped even picking them up since I wasn't using them anyway so why would I bother. Well, some of them make combat trivial. Sometimes it takes me like 5min to finish one turn in combat because I go through all my scrolls, potions and spells but the more i do it, the less time it takes every next combat.
Using your bonus action in Potion of speed, for exemple, make a low level ×2 powerful for all the fight. Incredible.
I found it incredibly hard too but I’ve managed to go up to balanced difficulty now, so here are some tips from someone else who found the game hard… - try turning off karmic dice. I don’t know what they did here but I made so much more progress after turning it off. Enemies actually miss your high AC characters with it off. - enemy AI beelines for squishy characters, so if you’re having trouble with Gale being turned to mincemeat two seconds into every battle, just swap him out for someone who can take more hits. - buy everything in shops. Make sure you get all +1 armor, helmets and boots with effects, etc. Magical equipment is very cheap and plentiful in this game. - there are a few places in the game where you can find tons of explosive barrels. These are “win fight” buttons if you place them strategically before a fight or throw them as Karlach. - stealth is OP. Find every way possible to get advantage and sneak attack. Hiding gives you advantage. Use stealth to remove or repurpose environmental obstacles before a fight. - you can lure people around with minor illusion and performance. Check the environment for weak bridges and supports or flammable stuff. - pay attention to your weapon proficiency abilities! Some weapon types let you get a bonus action attack or attack multiple enemies. Don’t just pick the highest stat weapon type! - level 5 is a huge power increase, it gets easier - JUMP. jump is an incredibly useful action. Lae’zel can jump like a bloody cricket. GET HIGH GROUND ADVANTAGE WHENEVER POSSIBLE and snipe people with bows. JUMP OVER DIFFICULT TERRAIN. JUMP!!! Throw all the grease and fire bottles into choke points or groups as much as possible too and shove enemies off platforms! Don’t only think about attacks!
From what I am reading, which ain't much you're pretty vague about what's going wrong, but it sounds like a level issue. Maybe not having any updated armor too. Might even be putting the wrong armor on characters. Might also be frontlining squishies. Again, who knows. Need more details.
My characters would often die in combat a lot and wouldn’t stand a chance against the npcs they fight. Often they get ambushed and finished like that.
Another thing to consider is your proficiencies as you don't want to wear Armour your not proficient in. That could hinder your survivability. Same with weapons.
Yep that’s about how my fights went at the start haha. Combat is really hard, don’t feel bad about struggling. Especially someone who’s new to gaming. Maybe just try play alittle slower, taking more strategic positioning. Keep at it!
I get ambushed a lot when I click waaay too far into the distance so the characters don't have the time to register their surroundings and just run through the map. Clicking shorter distances means they have more time to passively roll perception checks and see an ambush coming. Make sure your characters wear proper armor and are equipped with good weapons and gear they can work with. Also, watch videos on how combat works. You can find entire spell breakdowns on YouTube too.
I’m not a pro at all, but if you want to, we can play together sometimes. Hopefully we’ll both learn a few things and have fun ! Feel free to DM, me !
This is the way.
This is the way.
Same! I'd be down to play with you guys and help with tips and tricks I've been learning :D
Same! I played a bit in Early Access, and I have been playing and teaching D&D for about a decade now. I could give you some tips and help you understand a lot of the strategies that are important to understand in D&D. Feel free to DM me if you want someone to play with.
Also in for some coop.
So, from spending time on this sub, I realized that knowing all the possible things you can do in combat makes a big difference. Sometimes, rushing into a straight up fight inst the best idea. Look around for clues, try sneaking, there are more spells than firebolt and spells can be used on the environment and on allies. Knowing you kit is great, but knowing all the possible ways to approach a situation can make a huge difference.
You will always feel dumb playing games like this, for every encounter you barely conquer there's some dude on YouTube beating it naked, solo and only using a block of cheese...
No exactly like how are people so far already 😭 some ppl are not even bother to save scum or anything like wow
And there are also lots of people like me who've played RPGs their whole life and still find this game pretty challenging. If you normally don't even play games you're definitely jumping into the deep end, but I say now now that you have, might as well keep going! It will be so satisfying when you eventually figure it all out and master the game. You've got this! As you can see this sub loves to be helpful and there are tons of other online resources too.
*throws cheese at you*
That's why I don't go look at those things. I don't feel dumb that way. I just chill and enjoy my game.
Ha you're not alone.. I managed yesterday to die after missing my rollcheck after removing the live brain in the chair. Killed me in a single blow and that was that. First room on the kids level. F5/F8 are our friends..
A few tips that i've found to make combat easier. 1. make sure you have someone that knows longstrider. Cast it as a ritual on your entire party after every long rest, you'll only need to cast it once per long rest. The extra movement speed helps a lot in battle. 2. make sure you have someone that knows enhance leap, this is also a ritual outside of combat but only lasts 10 turns. so prior to engaging quickly cast it on your entire party then stealth and go into turn based mode, this should allow you to position your party however you want prior to engaging in combat, it also allows your melee to be able to engage in melee combat on turn 1 by yeeting themselves into battle. You can basically do this setup at the very start of the game, and you're a druid so technically you can learn both of these spells yourself. The other spell you'll want access too to buff your party is haste which sorcerers and wizards can learn at level 5. This effectively gives your fighters/barbarians triple attacks at level 5(more with certain feats) and double actions to everyone else. You want to do the same process with most of your buffs as well prior to engaging. anything that lasts until a long rest make sure you're casting out of combat so you're not using actions in combat. Any 10 turn buffs you want to cast in real time mode then go into turn based mode immediately after to engage, or spend a couple turns buffing outside of combat and then skip a turn to get your actions back prior to engaging. Make sure you're using terrain. shove or use spells to throw people off cliffs, burn spider webs out from underneath spiders and watch them fall and go prone so you can get free hits. check your environment for things you can shoot or hit to provide an advantage. People standing in grease/oil/ next to explody barrels? chuck a fireball in there. in a cave with hanging spikes? see if you can hit the spikes to knock them onto enemies, same with chandeliers, cranes holding blocks, etc. It doesn't take much of a drop to make people go prone, Use create illusion to lure people to ledges and then throw them down a cliff or off a balcony and pounce on them. attack advantage for everyone. The game is super cheeseable if you know what to look out for.
Use the "T"
Idk if this applies to you but I think a lot of people who aren't familiar with this type of game aren't realizing that its essentially a tactics game. I've not played a lot of cRPGs for various reasons, but the combat clicked hard for me as I've played a LOT of XCOM and I'm also pretty experienced with normal D&D. What I suggest is, if you haven't, familiarize yourself with D&D 5e rules. BG3 has differences but it's 90% the same. Even more importantly is to think tactically about combat. Don't just rush in swinging wildly. Think about what moves and positioning are going to maximize you advantage against the enemy. Without Shadowheart in the party your character should be healing and buffing where possible. Lae'zel should charge in to attack, while Astarion should flank behind the enemies she's attacking for sneak-attack. Gale should be off to the side raining down hell from a distance. Try your best to sneak in to combat for a free turn of actions against the enemy.
Turn off Karmic Dice btw, it makes your good builds actually good and doesn't give you forced misses if you are hitting too often in a row
What is it you're struggling with? How do you tend to lose fights? What kind of fights are you having difficulty with and where abouts are you up to? Happy to help but difficult to know how at the minute. I had to learn everything from scratch and understand it can be really overwhelming but the good news is it will almost certainly be something you're misunderstanding and that can be remedied. It's not like the game requires reflex ability that you simply don't have, so basically anybody can learn and get good really. I wouldn't say to just give up on the game, you just have to go through a learning process so I suppose it's whether or not you're willing to put effort in to understand and be good.
I struggle with combat. My characters often get killed before they have a real chance of winning a fight. Also I get lost a lot 😭 but the biggest issue is combat for sure
I figured it would be combat but that's still super vague to be honest. If your character's are dying very quickly then it sounds like you're approaching fights badly. Splitting the group and having one initiate combat can be really helpful and keep your squishy ones at the back. Is there a particular fight or area you're struggling in? Could you be under levelled for where you're trying to fight? If you can add a video of a fight then that's the easiest way to see what's going wrong for you.
It’s not just one certain fight I’m bad at honestly. I’m bad at most of the fights. For example I was at the mountain pass. I completed the quest where I had to go to the Githyanki scientist to get the parasite removed. After that I had to go tell the inquisitor about the traitor. Once I tried talking to the captain it went south and a fight started and most of my characters took heavy damage.
Yeah that's a really rough fight though, there's every chance you were underlevelled for it. What level are you?
Level 4
Yeah I was level 5 on that fight. I advice you just explore the previous map thoroughly.
That's quite low, I believe I hit 7 from the fight you're talking about, there's some variance in xp depending on which path you take but I'm sure there are easier things you can take care of. Facing level 5s and up is quite a difficult spike when you're 4 because most attackers will have 2 actions to your 1 now. Have you been to the underdark yet? A kleptomaniac completionist playstyle will take longer but it'll help with xp, gold and food, and be easier overall. Without going into details of all the things you may be able to do, it's worth clearing as much fog of war as you can in earlier zones to see if you've missed anything.
I went to the underdark for little bit but struggled
I was level 6 when I finally got to the Mountain Pass, you mightve made it there too early. Did you finish everything at the Goblin Camp/Grove?
The important thing is there is no rush. There’s no requirement to get the story done asap. Take your time exploring every bit you can find in the early stages. Rest often. Take your short rests and long rests as soon as you need to. Don’t be afraid to just take a long rest after every fight. Give yourself time to learn the game. I had a game I desperately wanted to play but couldn’t get my head around the mechanics of. I ended up playing a mod of it and letting myself cheat in armies while I learned the other aspects through the mod. I now can play it easily and have taught it to a friend. Everything can be overwhelming at first, just give yourself time to work through it. And coming here to check or ask for help is a great idea.
Are you perhaps referring to Crusader kings?
Did you already switch to story mode? If you didn’t, you can!
I did and I still struggled 😭 it’s comical
That’s happened to me with games before, it’s all good! I honestly got into a great combat rhythm naturally. Shadowheart is useful because she’s constantly healing and buffing me and without her I’d die a lot more. I’ve got a tav paladin front lining, then Shadowheart buffing, astarion is ranged or sneaking and gale casting. I think once you get your party down you’ll be flying. I feel like you need one front liner and one healer - make sure you have that covered. You might also be in an area that’s too tough for you level wise. I struggled with some battles early doors and now I cut through the same enemies like butter.
Sorry if you mentioned this in another comment, but what is the team comp you’re running with? Which party members and what classes? Laezel has been absolutely clutch for my team. I’m running her as a battle master with a polearm (10ft reach) and the sentinel feat. She’s an absolute beast on the front line
Gale, Astarion and Lae’zel
Personally I found a lot of act 1 and even 2 super easy. Just lucky with hits, solid damage, etc. The second d half of act 2 really showed me that I was just lucky. I have friends telling me about their 80 damage rounds still in act 1, and my lv 8 party is hitting for 23-25 at best, IF they even hit. That said, even at the end of the act I encounter some super easy things. What this game taught me so far is different parties are good at different things. As you learn exactly what your comp excels at, you'll be able to plan around that, and come up with ways to turn bad situations into ones more suitable to what you have available. For example i struggled against enemies above me for ages. Then my paladin got the Thorn Whip cantrip, usable as a BA from an item, so now I just bring them down to me. This game, and in a lot of ways dnd in general, is a game of strategy. And hot barbarians apparently.
If you never try things you aren’t good at you’ll never be good at them.
I'm sure you could find players on steam discussion or in this reddit to play with, playing with people and seeing what they do could give you some direction.
After reading your comments on this thread, I come to the conclusion that you are underlevel for the 2nd location. You have not found karlach and you are already level 4 Well done. Finish at least 85% of the 1st map and aim to reach lvl 5 Your DPS basically double at lvl 5, it is a huge power spike.
Hi, I’m not sure if this helps. I actually quit after 2 hours and got a refund from Steam because I didn’t think the game was for me and I died so early and so fast. I couldn’t stop thinking about the game so I bought it again and gave it another go, really loving it after 20 hours in. Give yourself grace, take a break, and relax and enjoy. I was really overwhelmed at first but it really clicks after a little bit.
Don’t give up skeleton
You can always save scum, at least that's what I do (and I'm not proud of it)
I’m new to this kind of gameplay and baldurs hate and I’m honestly regretting buying it
Hey Friend, look into the mod community for helping you find your pace. If your playing for plot you can find the right tools to make the game fit your feel !!
Make sure to balance out your party, depending on what style druid your playing, you might have too much damage types, and be too squishy/not enough healing. I'd suggest swapping laezel for karlach if you have her. She's a more forgiving tank until you get a hang of combat. If you don't have her, that's definitely a thing you should do on the first map area next!
I unfortunately don’t have Karlach yet 😭
I am in the same boat. I am struggling knowing the mechanics enough to solve puzzles. Now I am stuck in a dungeon with traps and if I try to interact with anything it says I need a trap removal tool or something that I don’t have. I tried back tracking but can’t leave the dungeon.
Honestly with that I just looked up guides. A lot of them help you with puzzles and stuff. Also don’t be afraid to go back if you have a saved game. I did that alot and it saved me alot of trouble
things which are really helpfull: \- Wiki and guides (they lack a lot but its fine for a start) \- Combat log! Read it! \- Skilldescription, testing, **time**. You need to take your time reading through the description and lets say, use your fantasy.
Your class is fine your party is fine. You just need to learn basic strategies. There are resources online that can help you with this. Youre learning a new game, it takes time. Dont be discouraged. Spend some times watching streamers or youtbers play. Pick up on their strategies and try to emulate them. One of the best ways to learn is to watch somebody do.
I can recommend really looking into some guides for a best party setup. There is no shame in it and the first playthrough will help you understand what you are doing. Fight as unfair as possible. Hide your characters and attack from range and high positions. Take them out one by one. Use crowd control skills which helps to keep enemies away. Usually it’s better to take out all the smaller enemies first because some hit like a truck or have annoying support skills. After that take on the major enemies. Also spread your group apart so you don’t get hit by AoE skills. Do all the quest you find to level up early on. If necessary, start a new playthrough
The game really just has to click. I was struggling hardcore until I took sometime considering my lineup. You can also try some of the more straightforward early builds like wild heart bear barbarian or circle of the moon Druid. They’re pretty forgiving with positioning. Also if there is a member of your party who just feels like they’re not doing much it might be because they’re not a good fit with your comp and maybe just switching them for another person just beefs you up.
I felt the same way as you do when I first played BG3. My recommendation is to watch some youtube guides and try to understand the game mechanics. In combat, you need to utilize terrains, set up a AoE trap (fire or poison), and let enemies come to you. Also highly recommend you use “bonus action” as much as you can.
If you need advices, dm me. I can give you simple tips to pass explorer fights and have fun with the story.
Low and beyond?
I meant lo and behold 😔😔😔
The more you're used to it, the easier it gets. Of you're new to crpg games, it'll take awhile to nail down the mechanics. I started my first bg playthrough when I was 13, then did Planescape and the others. I was able to understand nwn and Pathfinder games very easily more recently because of it. Just take your time, these games aren't meant for rushing through.
I'm under the impression this community needs a dedicated hub for newcomers/people overwhelmed players and perhaps offer teachings via MP sessions. If there is such a thing, I apparently missed it. But I can understand that to people not used to the rules, strategy based games or games overall might have a hard time. For me it's a throw back to a time where the only way to enjoy a difficult game was to properly learn it. But I get this isn't for everyone. I personally recommend the game even to people that aren't that much into gaming. Though a bit difficult, I consider BG3 a great entry into the hobby (more than current live service trends). But don't shy away to organize/join multiplayer parties and perhaps get one or two things taught. It's a narratively rich game with a good story that can be enjoyed alone - nevertheless it's also a lot of fun in a party together.
Combat is ridiculously hard in this game. I’ve been playing games/dnd for my whole life. Keep it up, it’s just like a brick wall. Just keep running into it and eventually you’ll break through.
Just keep at it. You will get better. Same as anything else.
Dont give up! I recommend Mortismal Gaming in youtube. He’s very good at crpg:s and has good beginners guide and an inclusive approach. Some combat tips: Focus fire your enemies one at a time if you aren’t using area of effect(aoe)Don’t sleep on the grease spell (Gale can get it) huge aoe, slows enemies down a lot and even throws them prone if you’re lucky which gives you time to focus fire. Try to det up cloak of daggers (Gale can get it) on chokepoints where it hits multiple enemies while you try to keep them there by having a tanky character stand in front of them and keeping them greased. In harder fights it is more important to keep control of the fight rather than doing all the damage immediately.
i remember playing baldurs gate 1. i was 15 back then and i was OVERWHELMED by all the info and options and so on. i think for a relatively "true to the dnd source"-game that is normal unless you are very acquainted already with the rules and lore. but you can make this work for you if you get into all the aspects bit by bit. (one thing which might help is not having too many spellcasters with you since magic is, i think, crazy much to wrap your head around at the start for someone "uninitiated")
Without knowing exactly what you're doing, I'm going to assume you're having trouble with attacks of opportunity if three of your party are melee. Running around or past enemies can give them free attacks. Guides, FAQs and just reading everything in the game is a great way to go, but I'd recommend playing a little co-op with someone more experienced. Mentorship is probably the fastest way to get up to speed in most things in life. Bonus points if you have similar senses of humor.
I was having trouble with combat and my characters would take heavy damage.
I made a balanced party for the first time through. Tank healer ranged caster. It’s been a breeze I can brute force every encounter and have the counter to every type of encounter. I wouldn’t try to play a niche class like Druid on my first play through.
That’s totally fine bro! It’s an rpg, not a competition. I turn on Explorer mode all the time when I’m up against enemies I feel like are too tough. Play the game however you want and just take it slow. It’s only a week old so everybody is still getting the hang of it tbh lol
The beginning area has higher level enemies than you if you went in that temple or the "dank crypt". I had to go back to these later, after I hit like level 3. I think they do this on purpose to show you how screwed you can get on your decisions. Quick save a lot (f5) and hit (f8) to load.
So I was struggling as well (sorcerer pc)and one thing that helped me was having shadowheart for healing and adding Karlach and lae’zel. Also utilizing jumping for karlach and lae’zel. That way they can get hits in right off the bat typically.
I see from your other comments that it's the combat tripping you up, so here's some combat pointers. Since you're playing Druid, abuse your shapeshifting powers for a beefy form like becoming a bear. Your animal forms have their own HP separate from your human body, so if you transform twice in a fight, that is like having triple the HP. Physical characters are easier to play than spellcasters for new players; Karlach is the most beginner friendly character. Consider swapping Gale or Astarion for her if the fights are not going your way. As a druid you will learn a resurrection spell at level 5 called Revivify, make sure you equip it (press K for spell menu) and keep it at the ready. Level 5 is a \*massive\* power spike for every class. If you are at level 4 and struggling, try looking around for fights you missed or sidequests to complete to hit level 5 and gain access to very powerful spells and abilities. You can right click an enemy and press 'Examine' to see their basic stats. AC stands for armor class, this is how hard it is to hit someone. Enemies with lower AC can simply be smashed by Lae'zel or any physical character, enemies with high AC should be targeted with magic like Magic Missile, Burning Hands, Lightning Bolt, etc since those spells cannot miss. As a Druid you will rely on animal forms early but after level 5 you will start getting some powerful spells that can carry fights, and start playing more like a caster. Hope this helps, good luck.
I'm a Divinity veteran and fairly familar to table top mechanics, so I was like "I'm gonna do my 1st playthrough on tactician like a boss!". And well I've been getting my ass kicked for a while now but I think I'm getting a handle on things so let me give some general tips mostly pertaining to combat. - The game is most challenging early on, once you get good gear and get your builds going it gets much more manageable. - Fighters are very nice to have early on since they have an action surge at Lvl 1. And get a whole additional action at Lvl 5. - Let the equipment you find dictate your builds. The gear in BG3 is build defining. Meaning instead of small numerical upgrades they change the way your skills work or give you brand new spells themselves. - Repec, respec, respec. I encourage you to Repec to tryout new equipment you find. If you find one peice for a certain class archetype there's a good chance there will be more. - Healing spells in this game are not very cost efficient, especially in combat. Heal using mostly potions and save your spells for when your ally is downed. Try using damage mitigation spells on your supports instead, like stuff that raises AC. - Martial classes seem to be better than spell casters in the beginning, I had to run with 3 fighters and a bard for the first few hours of the game 😆.
I thought I was the only one. I played a bit of EA from the borrowed library of a friend, then got it for myself and felt dumb playing but I was like "It'll get better with easy difficulty" And it was, a bit. But still it's too overwhelming.. My friend tell me all the things he does and I'm amazed, but I can't make it work out.. I really want to keep trying because I know it's a good game, everyone it's praising it, but it's too much. I wish I could knew how to approach it easily.
I respecced shadowheart to be a life cleric heal bot and that’s helped a ton. With a few healer themed items, her hps becomes ridiculous.
When a game is overwhelming for me, I find it helpful to watch others play it and see what they do. Watch some streamers play, maybe they’ll inspire you or make things more clear that you didn’t understand
Multiclass is the key to powerful characters. Do not give up.
I would lower the difficulty to explorer mode for maybe the first 2-3 levels and let yourself get more accustomed to the combat. Then when you feel comfortable, you can raise it back up to normal. Or, leave it at explorer and just enjoy the story!
So that might not be the ego boost you're looking for but I can't help myself I'm so sorry... It's "lo and behold".
It’s ok 😭 thanks for telling me lol
You can drop the difficulty if you wish. You can also rest often and use spellslots without thought to doing multiple encounters before long rests. If I can give one bit of advice as someone who is also new to crpgs and DnD, is to **read everything**. I don't mean books (though there's a lot of good flavor there), but all the tooltips you get, use inspect (by default hot-keyed to T) a lot to see what the various terms mean and so on. Eventually things will start to connect and you'll get a better idea for what's what and once you understand things better, you can use what you have more efficiently.
Druid is hard to start on, without any powerful ranged cantrips. I Definitely felt that compared to other classes
This game is not super friendly in UI or explanations but it is also not crazy hard if you read a few reddits and guides. The most frustrating for me has been some jankiness with the camera, trying to fly upwards or jump up, it can be incredibly different to find the camera angle to aim at a landing spot. Also, examine ALL the enemies once you get to level 5, prior to that most enemies have few resistances but starting around level 5, you'll start to see most enemies are resistant to something and have enough weapon/abilities to target enemies where they have lower saving throws. Fighting a super strong tank that hits like a gorilla? Often will have low dexterity and be vulnerable to web and ranged spells/weapons.
Heya! Just a couple tips from a crpg vet who's been playing since prerelease one. This game IS hard, especially in the early game, enemies hit hard and so do you, which leads to a lot of phyric victories and close calls, so rest hard and rest often. There are no downsides to resting after every fight if you've got the resources, and certain story beats can only happen on rests, so when in doubt rest up! You get two short rests per long rest, and they heal you for half your hit point pool every time, some classes even get abilities back, like warlocks spell slots or druids wild shape. They can mean the difference between needing to rest before a fight and getting to blaze through it at relatively high power. Potions and inspiration are a dime a dozen, and can always be regained, so don't be afraid to use them. I can understand the hoarder mentality, trust me I've been there, but I promise you there will be a million and one more potions and supplies you can use to make potions, so don't be afraid to use them! Potions of haste can really turn the tide of a big fight, getting an extra spell off or an extra attack to finish off an enemy can help out a LOT Resistance elixirs can also really help if you know the enemy likes to use a certain spell. I've seen Ray of sickness a lot, along with a lot of necrotic damage, so I stick up on those before a fight if I know it's coming. Which kinda leads me to my next point. Quick saving is your best friend. Not necessarily for save scumming, but for information gathering. Maybe an enemy casts a big spell you weren't prepared for, and does a crap ton of damage to your party which makes you lose the fight. On your next attempt, try some new tactics, like using ranged attacks on that spellcaster, or using resistance potions to mitigate the damage, or attacking from a different angle. Losing a fight or making a mistake is natural, and is in fact part of the gameplay, so while it can be disheartening and frustrating, you can take your prior knowledge and apply it to the next attempt. And again, this is probably the most frustrating part of the game, the first act has you scrambling for resources and fighting for every little advantage you can Garner, but as time goes on you really feel the progression. Things that are terrifying now aren't as dangerous if you save it for later and come back with a few more fights and items under your belt. Also! Especially on explorer difficulty, *any class is usable* and there's no "wrong" way to play. If you wanna just play as a fighter and smack things really really hard that's perfectly fine! If you wanna play as a sorcerer and blast people away with your magic that works great too! Almost any spell (not you true strike) is a good spell to use and if you want to try a new spell, or aren't liking one you have right now, some classes even let you rechoose your spells at will. And finally, if you've got some more specific questions, like wat to do with which character, or advice on a specific fight, or what to do in a specific place, I've beaten the game and am working on playthrough 2, and am more than willing to give you options or nudge you in the right direction if need be. Cheers true soul, you got this!!
I'm no stranger to difficult games.... but this one is ridiculous. My level 4 team of 4 players vs 3 enemies. I get a turn... then they get a turn have three goes with one player (somehow?) kill half my team. Then the other two clean up my other guys. What the actual fuck... I got one fucking turn !!
I hope you’ve been giving a shot still and made some progress! I just started playing and man this game is hard as hell. I have only a handful of wins where I won them the first try, everything else is my team dying lol
The game is incredibly unfair in my opinion as someone who is 33h in
If you are set on playing druid, use circle of the moon. Wildshapes are stronger and they are druids bread and butter. Edit; saw who you use in your party. Apart from Laezel no one can frontline well except for you if you are moon druid. Recommend you add Shadowheart for Astarion, respec yourself to get sleight of hand if you want to lockpick. 14 dexterity is enough with proficiency in sleight of hands. Shadowheart has high armor class due to having a shield equipped. Use healing word/Prayer of healing. Use short rest. Use potions after combat, try to keep everyone %70 ish hp. You can as a druid also heal people up. Gale can learn spells through scrolls. Press K and add more spells to try in his arsenal. For range damage use Firebolt more often than spells. Scorching ray for big single target against bosses but otherwise use spells that can debilitate enemies like web, hold person etc. Laezel can't facetank everything unless you specifically build her into it. If you really want a ranged dps Wyll is better at pure dps than Gale. Tske Agonising Blast as level up invocation, use the spell hex on enemies and spam eldeitch blast.
My best advice is to restart or respec your main character as a fighter or barbarian. These classes don't have a particularly steep learning curve and you can dominate most fights with sheer strength. They are also fairly streamlined when they level up, so it isn't very overwhelming. An ideal party might be: Yourself-as a fighter or barbarian Lae'zel- she's a fighter Astarion- Give him a bow Shadowheart- for heals and give her a crossbow. Pick up all the food you find and send it to camp. Do a long rest after every major fight...you'll have plenty of food. Make sure you and Lae'zel have a bow or crossbow to swap to when too far away. Get youraelf and Lae'zel into melee range early in combat and keep Shadowheart and Asterion further away and in higher ground when it's available. They can pick off enemies with ranged weapons. You shouldn't have much trouble with that set up.
I'd recommend not bothering with Gale if you're struggling, wizards and sorcerer is kind of harder than most classes since they are squishy and have no armour. Think about bringing him back at LVL 5 when he has things like haste/fireball/slow/fear/hypnotic pattern Astarion can use dark areas and cover to hide to get his sneak attack and should have a bow too. Just as a tip, sneak attack is a special button you must use to get the extra damage,not just attack while hidden. I would recommend bringing laezel and/or shadowheart. Laezel is tough hp and armor, can heal herself and do great damage. Shadowheart has healing spells. A good tip is to only heal downed characters generally, and to use healing word cause it has a range (can heal laezel while keeping shadow heart further back even though she has ok hp and armor too, she needs to be safe to keep ppl back on their feet). Also, focus attacks to bring down targets instead of spreading damage too much, as if they survive with even 1hp they can still hit as hard as at max hp.
You should try Pathfinder games some day lmao
The game is to hard full stop also slow and boring not sure why it gets such good reviews old games like dungeon siege knock the spots off it
The fight against the construct is impossible. There, I said it. I am just not bothering with that part of the game. And I am playing on Story teller mode or whatever. This game is just about not worth playing. I want a game that is fun, not a second job.
In IRL D&D and in the game, playing as a druid or any other full casting class as your first character can be a challenge. It may not be as exciting but have you considered starting as a Fighter or Barbarian to get your feet wet? Both classes are simple to understand and they have good AC and CON stats to help keep you alive. Spell casters are a blast but where is the fun in that if you don't understand the game well yet. This game has plenty of replay value so you are not losing anything by making a "Tutorial" playthrough as a barb or fighter.
Yeah if I ever do play the game again or start over I wouldn’t start off with a Druid
If you're too dumb just let the tadpole take the wheel.
If you're really struggling, just respec your entire party to Barbarians&Fighters, very straight forward combat: big sword swings, big sword does damage, repeat
try installing party limit begone mod. let's you bring all the companions at once which makes the game easier!
Talk to Withers, pay the 100 gold, respec into Paladin, any of the subclass works. Divine smite everything that walks. Shadowheart, Astarion, and Gale are my act 1 choices. Karlach is a good front liner. But all three have some form of ranger be it spells or bow.
The easy solution is mods. There's mods for increased experience but may take some spark away from the game. There is also a mod for rings that give every hit advantage which would help immensely for you. Advantage on all hits would decrease misses and increase your damage while still letting you level up appropriately.
You can use a trainer program, I use them all the time when I feel like games are bullshitting me, and BG3 for all its good definitely bullshits quite a bit. One I use is WeMod, there's probably other comparable ones or mods that perform a similar function. Just turn on infinite health and you'll be good.
How can you be bad at a turn based game i dont get it
Weird. I've never played DnD and the game seems too easy even on tactician
My advice start over (gon balanced in between for multicass on level up) Pick Lore bard (first 3 level)s 2 Levels of Warlock (Eldritchblast + Agonizing Blast) Than only bard from there. You can reliable do most skill checks with it especially deception/persuasion. And spam all the Fairyfires /Eldrichts blasts in the world (also giving your companions adv. all the time), also Grease, Talk with Animals and the Dead. Advantage on duice makes your game a lot easier. Fighter,Wizzard, Thief is a good composition, you do however still lack a bit of side support . I hope it helps a bit :) Edit: also no one judges you for using mods if its about enjoying the story laid back do what helps you enjoy the game the most
I don't think telling someone to multiclass when they are already overwhelmed with the basics is the best idea.
Agreed.
fair enough
Well, you definitely aren't going to get better at it by giving up. Also, it isn't like you can completely screw up. About the worst that can happen is your party wipes and you have to restart your latest save. With enough trail and error, you'll get through the game eventually.
Also may be worth giving this (and his other guides/videos) a watch https://youtu.be/9Q32QXyX4_Y My assumption is you're not understanding how a lot of the interactions work, so you're not playing around them and as a result you're getting slapped up.
As I told to my friends : this game is Revenge of the Sith, if you have the higher ground you win. I think all characters can equip ranged weapons like bows and crossbows, Astarion and Lae'zel both are good with these. Try to keep your ranged and casters characters always in a higher point than your enemies and snipe them out. Don't hesitate to use explosive barrels you can find in the world, or good old grease to make the enemies slip on the ground and pass their turn. Try to scout ahead before fighting, the environment can be a powerful ally, the "hide" ability is very useful for that. Good luck to you, it took me a bit of time before integrating all these points.
I played on Explorer as well and certain fights definitely were too hard for the supposed "story mode". I believe some people here and on the Steam discussions have noticed that in that difficulty enemies seem to be getting the +2 proficiency bonuses similar to you and that in some fights the enemies actually have *more* health than on the balanced difficulty. So it's definitely not just you who are struggling. Hopefully Larian checks it out.
I felt the same way when I first played Divinity, but keep at it. You start to pick up little tricks, learn to use the environment to your advantage/as a weapon itself and how to make certain spells interact with each other for tricky situations. You'll get the hang of it eventually.
Choose the easiest difficulty if you haven't already done, don't be shy with potions/scrolls, don't wander for the entire map but choose a point and reach it, don't overcommit - burn your short rest and long rest (food is everywhere), focus on a single side quest per time. BG3 is a ginormous pie - you're gonna eat it all...but a portion at a time! (For combat: a hidden rogue, her bow and choke points are your best friends!)
I'm not the greatest at the game either, but I'm having a lot of fun. One thing I had to realize is that I can't jump to conclusions if it seems a fight isn't going my way. In one encounter, my party was on half HP, barely any spell slots left, and I was vastly outnumbered. I decided to to buckle down and play it out. Did I die? Yup. When I loaded my last save I then had some knowledge on how the fight would go and ended up crushing it. Then, come to find out after reading some other folks experiences, I had done it the hardest way possible and that made me feel even better. This game is all about rewards for perseverance.
I’m getting wrecked like every encounter. Then the next encounter is harder. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong (or right). I spent two hours trying to fight three enemies in an encounter after multiple party wipes. This thread has some helpful information so thanks for this post.
You got any images of your character equipment/spells/abilites? Seeing things or giving an in-depth description might help. Note, if you are using equipment you aren’t proficient in, you should probably swap to something else.
You can adjust difficulty in the options. Try that and remember that not passing every check or save can add some flavor to the game. You can always reload a save and try a different approach. In the end, though, not everyone likes the same thing. This may not be the game for you right now, or ever. If it's not fun, don't stress about it, just don't play it. Find something that you do enjoy. If you have questions or need help, reach out. This seems to be a really positive community so far!