After six years in development and three years in early access, Baldur\u2019s Gate 3<\/em> is now live everywhere in the world. Due to the sheer size of the game, with reports boasting 174 hours worth of cutscenes and over 17,000 ending variations<\/a>, and an impossible review window \u2014 The Verge<\/em> received our code on Sunday \u2014 it\u2019s going to take a while before formal reviews start popping up. (Or at least it should<\/em>, but there will inevitably be some places that mainline the game in service of an uncaring SEO machine.) But thanks to the limited time I did get with Baldur\u2019s Gate 3<\/em>, I can offer some tips, tricks, and thoughts that will get you through the first 20 hours or so of the game. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Baldur\u2019s Gate 3 <\/em>is a chonky-ass game, taking up around 120 gigs of space. My computer\u2019s only about three years old, running an Intel i5-10400 with 16 gigs of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660. With these specifications, I\u2019m solidly between the minimum and what Larian recommends<\/a>, and it is evident<\/em>. While I haven\u2019t experienced any serious performance issues, it\u2019s obvious from the constant sound of my desktop fans whirring that BG3<\/em> is a very resource-intensive game. So make sure you\u2019ve got a rig capable of running it beyond the minimum requirements. Or simply wait until the game comes out on consoles. The PS5 launch is on September 6th<\/a>; the Xbox launch is… well… considerably later after that<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Make sure you\u2019ve got a rig capable of running it beyond the minimum requirements<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n BG3<\/em> has been in early access for three years, which, according to a Bloomberg<\/em> profile of the game\u2019s development<\/a>, was a successful way for fans to experience bits of the game while giving developer Larian Studios more time and money to finish this gargantuan endeavor. However, with the game now live, Larian recommends<\/a> that you delete any early access saves to guard against possible save corruption calamity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve taken measures to ensure a smooth transition into the launch version of BG3<\/em>, but we still recommend deleting your in-game Early Access save files if you still have access to an Early Access version of the game,\u201d read a blog on BG3<\/em>\u2019s Steam page. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Larian also recommends deleting any mods and uninstalling the early access version of the game and reinstalling it now that it\u2019s live. No word yet on if early access mods are compatible with the live game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I think my biggest complaint about BG3<\/em> is how sparingly the game autosaves. This, combined with how relatively easy it is for your party to just straight-up die, makes for an incredibly frustrating early game experience. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Many games use their early encounters to onboard the player, letting you go from fight to fight to fight, mowing down enemies with nary more than a scratch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Taking this approach in Baldur\u2019s Gate 3<\/em> will get you killed<\/strong>. Often.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Baldur\u2019s Gate 3<\/em> is basically Dungeons and Dragons:<\/em> The Video Game, and players should not approach combat as one typically would a non-D&D-<\/em>based game. In one of my early adventures, after just mopping up a band of goblins, I stumbled upon three very low-level goblins enjoying some day drinking. Though my party wasn\u2019t at full health, I thought, \u201cIt\u2019s only three of them, four of us, and I surprised them. This should be light work.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n After my party missed three out of four of their surprise round attacks, one goblin managed to climb to a higher elevation, chucked something at my grouped-up party, hit an explosive barrel I could not see, and outright killed us all. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Frequent saving is your friend<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I went from fine to FUBAR in the space of one (un)lucky dice roll. And, better yet, Baldur\u2019s Gate<\/em> doesn\u2019t do the whole \u201crestart at the beginning of an encounter\u201d thing (WHICH IT SHOULD!), and my last autosave was some 10 minutes previous. Even if you\u2019re not in combat situations, frequent saving is your friend because it is very easy<\/em> to say or do the wrong thing in front of the wrong NPC, and suddenly a bear is chewing on Astarion. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Save often \u2014\u00a0you can even do it mid-combat! Your sanity and your downed party members will thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you don\u2019t have experience with D&D<\/em> or Baldur\u2019s Gate<\/em> (and, hell, even if you do), BG3<\/em> can be intimidating as hell. There are so many races and classes and subclasses with domains and archetypes and spells to choose from that it can get overwhelming. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Being honest, I cannot accurately describe half of what my party is supposed to do. I just know that Gale, Wyll, and my sorcerer do the pew pew, Lae\u2019zel and Astarion do the stabitty stab, and Shadowheart does the heal-y heals. Despite this, I\u2019m still pretty effective at murder-hoboing my way through Faer\u00fbn<\/a> because the game does a good job of laying out my party\u2019s abilities and the conditions needed to make them effective in the moment I need them. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Though I\u2019ve never played a rogue, BG3<\/em> taught me pretty effectively that to get the most out of Astarion, his targets should either never see him or be distracted by another party member. Shadowheart didn\u2019t seem to have a lot going beyond her healing spells. And since I figured potions already do a decent enough healing job, I shouldn\u2019t waste a party slot on her. But because the game showed me that her Guidance<\/a> ability can be cast anytime I need to talk my way into or out of a situation, she immediately became an indispensable party member. So when you\u2019re reading all the class, subclass, feats, traits, or spell descriptions and start to feel your eyes glaze over, don\u2019t worry about it. Pick what sounds cool, and the game will teach you the rest. The game is also decently flexible. I\u2019ve found that building my party around combat hasn\u2019t hampered my ability to role-play successfully. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n There\u2019s a lot more discussion to be had about Baldur\u2019s Gate 3,<\/em> but this is a good starting point for those starting out. Good luck, have fun, and for the love of Tyr, don\u2019t forget to save your game often.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nMake sure you meet the recommended<\/em> specifications<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n
Say goodbye to those early access saves<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n
Save early, safe often, and prepare to die<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t sweat the small stuff… or the big stuff, for that matter<\/h4>\n<\/p>\n