Baldur’s Gate 3has recently celebrated its second anniversary, and love for the game and its developers is still going strong. Despite thousands of players knowing the game inside and out, fans continue to be captivated by everythingBG3has to offer.
With the game being in the spotlight for so long, many players have exhausted most of its main features, but others are still uncovering more secrets to this day. If you’re among those who find that their campaigns are gradually becoming stale,here are a few ideas to freshen up your next playthrough.
Do Quests In An Unexpected Order
Once you’ve settled on a preferred approach to certain quests, it’s easy to repeat that structure in later playthroughs. However,Baldur’s Gate 3is flexible with most quest timelines, so you can tackle most objectives within each act in any order.
Switching up the order of events can allow you to focus on what you want to do the most, or get your hands on some items that you would normally have to wait longer for. For instance, you can visit the Underdark or the Mountain Pass before confronting the goblin leaders,meaning you candefend the Emerald GroveinAdamantine Splint Armour.
You don’t have to attend the tiefling (or goblin) party to be prompted to enter the Underdark, and you may find yourself there after falling through the pit inthe Whispering Depths under the Blighted Village. Later in the game, you could also choose to fight Orin before Gortash and still rescue her victim - if the dice are on your side.
Roll Real Dice To Make Decisions
If you want to completely randomize your experience, try using real dice to make your decisions.Roll to determine which dialogue option to choose, which area to go to next, or even which companion to bring along. This can push you into unexpected scenarios, force you to adapt to unusual party combinations, and create stories you’d never plan on your own.
Add Mods
Modding is an obvious way to breathe some new life into your campaigns,and after trying a few choice add-ons, you might never return to vanilla gameplay. While Nexus offers a huge library of creative mods, Larian has made the process easier than ever withthe in-game mod manager, letting you customize your adventure without much hassle.
Whether you want to completely overhaul your experience or slightly tweak annoying aspects of the game that might hold you back from starting a new run, the mod manager has you covered.Popular changes people choose to implement include weightless gold/items,expanded camp clothing options, enhanced character customization, and additional encounters.
Romance A Character You Usually Leave In Camp
The companions you choose to take with you in your party can make a massive difference to your experiencewith their banter and commentary on your actions. If there’s a character you’ve often overlooked or left at camp,exploring their romance routeis a great way to learn more about them - you might find they’re far more interesting than you expected.
Sticking to their default builds can also prompt you to experiment with new party compositionsand battle tactics with classes you may not have paid much mind to in the past.
Stop Prioritizing Safety Over Fun Dialogue
When it comes to games likeBaldur’s Gate 3,there’s always a large portion of the playerbase that will always stray away from choosing any “mean” dialogue optionsin fear of hurting the companions' feelings, and I can’t say I’m not guilty of that myself. However, having the same conversations in every playthrough is probably the easiest way to bore yourself.
While it can sting to see that disapproval icon pop up, unless you’re doing something especially cruel, it’s often just a minor -1 penalty that won’t meaningfully affect your relationship.Don’t be afraid to trade a sliver of approval for the sake of authenticity and variety in your roleplay.
Choose A Roleplay Theme & Stick With It
Baldur’s Gate 3thrives with player creativity, soone of the best ways to become immersed in a campaign is to get a good concept of your character.Choosinga unique roleplay ideaand sticking with it can make your Tav feel more like a PC at areal DnDtable, turning your campaign into a more cohesive and personal story.
A fun and easy idea to work with is playing as a compulsive liar, only ever telling the truth when you’re out of other options. On the other hand, you could challenge yourself to consistently tell the truth, forcing you to fight out of difficult situations you can usually swindle your way through.
You could also work off some of the existing lore ofBG3to create a character- perhaps your Tav could be a former member of the Flaming Fist, or you could even make a character based on the protagonist ofBG3’s prequel,Blood In Baldur’s Gate.
Play A Different Origin Character
It’s easy to see why so many players gravitate toward custom characters inBG3,but the premade origin characters have just as much to offer.If you haven’t tried playing as the Dark Urge yet, it’s very much worth it.You can still fully customize your appearance and build while gaining a defined place in the game’s lore.
The characters that you’ll normally meet as companions are also heavily underrated as protagonists.They all have unique dialogue options, endings, and cutscenes that most players miss out on.Gale is a particularly great origin characterto choose, since you’ll get to meet his “pet” Tressym, Tara, much earlier on.
Respec Your Companions
If you’re happy with your usual party lineup but still want to shake things up,try respeccing your companions into different classes - especially ones that completely clash with their personalities.This is a fun way to create new combat dynamics and often some hilarious moments.
I’m currently running a campaign with Gale as a barbarian, and his awkward, half-committed battle roars never fail to make me laugh. Lae’zel as a bard is a classic choice, but I also can’t get enough of Minthara as a bard - constantly getting her to useVicious Mockeryfeels all too fitting for her.
Run A Co-Op Game
PlayingBG3with friends brings the game to life much like a realD&Dsession, but with an in-built dungeon master.Working together to plan battle tactics and make narrative decisions feels very different from playing solo, and often leads to some wonderfully chaotic moments.
If you’re planning to play with three others, be aware that you’ll need the party size increase mod to avoid locking yourself out of completing Shadowheart’s story.
Even if you don’t care much for Shadowheart, this mod is also a great help in smoothly completing your companions' quests in general. If you want to takeLae’zel to the githyanki crèche, Gale to Sorcerous Sundries, or Astarion to Cazador’s palace, this will allow you to do so without any issues.
Do A Custom Mode Campaign
If you’ve already completed an honor or tactician mode run, or simply don’t want to attempt them at all, you may feel as if there are no more big challenges for you to conquer inBG3.One option you may not have explored yet is Custom Mode.
This lets you adjust the difficulty of different game elements to suit your playstyle, while also offering useful quality-of-life improvements. With Custom Mode,you’re able to face off against Honor/Tactician mode-level enemies without the risk of permanently losing your campaign,or enjoy an easier ruleset while still having the freedom to multiclass.
Although you won’t unlock an achievement upon completing a Custom Mode run, it’s a flexible way for you to tailor your experience without drastically altering the base gameplay ofBaldur’s Gate 3.
