Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Help Tips & Tricks A few final Questions befgore launch

First of thanks for everyone who has helped answer my questions over the last few weeks on here. I have just completed my 2nd EA playthrough...once as a Bard and once as a Ranger. As someone who doesn't play DnD I wanted to play early to get a grasp on mechanics prior to release...and I am actually pretty happy with how things have gone. It was all a bit easier to grasp than I guessed. I do have a few lingering questions and with release coming up figured it was about time to get these answered.

1.) SAVING THROW Target Number. To hit someone with an attack, your die roll and bonuses need to exceed their armor class. Exceeding their armor class is the target. But I haven't figured out what number you are chasing to successfully get a saving throw. I get I am adding my CON, or CHA modifier to my roll, but how is it determined what number I have to hit in the first place? Conversely if I am playing a caster who uses spells that grants savings throw checks to the enemy, is there anything I can do passively or in my build to make it harder for them to hit the checks? What number are they trying to roll to make the saving throw successfully. I have seen active skills and spells that you can use which will impact enemy savings throws but unsure of passive options I can choose or get in a build.

2.) Dual Wielding. I haven' played a dual wielder yet in my playthroughs but I just saw in a DnD YT video stating offhand attacks take a bonus action? Is that true in BG3? If so that really sucks. If I wanted to Dual wield axes on a Barbarian, what baseline skills or feats would I need?

3.) I have been the talker on all my playthroughs. But let's say I wasn't and I was using a Companion for that, do the other companion reactions to the acts and conversations impact their opinion of the person talking or of my character?

Thanks!

For 2 - yes, anyone can attack with 2 weapons in 5e, but unless you have a specific feat (dual wielder), these must both be 'light' (so two short swords for example). You also don't get to add your +ve strength bonus to damage on the offhand weapon. If you have dual wielder then you can use non-light weapons that can be used with 1 hand, in each of your hands. So axes etc. See here for a detailed explanation - https://www.skullsplitterdice.com/blogs/dnd/two-weapon-fighting-dnd5e
NB: using the second weapon depletes your single bonus action per round - so you need to be sure you want that (so no potion drinking etc if you use that extra attack). Also note that at level 5 your fighter can attack twice with their attack action, so the bonus attack would bring this to 3 attacks.


For 1. The saving through DC (difficulty class) depends on what the save is for. Each DC is explained in the players handbook/rules. For spells, the DC is 8 + proficiency_bonus + spell casting stat modifier. Also, note that for AC you just need to match AC to hit, not exceed it.
Anyway, as a wizard with say 18 int, and level 1, your spell DC is 8 + 2 (prof bonus at level 1) + 4 (for int). It does not depend on spell level. You have feats or abilities that may make it harder for people to save against spells (you'd need to check class abilities and possible feats - also key an eye out for magic items that can buff DC).

The other questions will have to be answered by someone who's played EA, but I can answer this one.

Saving throws are against the DC of the spell or ability the character is saving against. Typically a spellcasting DC, but some other abilities give saves as well (like some weapon actions that inflict debuffs).

Let's say Gale is casting Fireball - all the creatures in the area need to make Dexterity saves against his spell DC, which is based on Intelligence because he is a Wizard. The ability score that determines a save DC depends on class, and is typically the spellcasting stat for the class (Wisdom for Clerics and Druids, Int for Wizards, Charisma for Bards, Sorcs, and Warlocks). You can improve your chances to hit by buffing your own character's spellcasting stat, or by debuffing the ability that creatures roll to resist it (Dexterity, Constitution, and Wisdom saves are the most common).

Conversely, enemy spellcasters can be debuffed by imposing penalties on their spellcasting stats, or by buffing your party's saving throws.

The saving throw used will vary based on the spell or ability. Fireball uses a Dexterity save, but Stinking Cloud uses Constitution. So the best strategy will depend on the situation.

https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Difficulty_Class

https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Saving_Throw

You have your first couple answered so regarding number 3:

The character talking is the one who the other characters react to. So if you want to build relationships, your character has to be the one interacting. On a good note, this is actually beneficial if you know that an action you want to take will piss off a companion that you like.

E.g. If you know Shadowheart will be pissed about admitting you have a worm in your head, have Gale do the talking for that conversation instead of you.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about 'winning' every skill check in conversations. None of the convos (in EA at least) lead to a game over, and letting your character lose some can make the game more interesting.

If you are really worried about it, there is an amulet with 'Guidance' you can grab early on which gives you an extra 1d4 to your rolls, and by level three Clerics learn a spell that lets you roll two dice during skill checks (known as advantage in DnD). Between those two, you get about a +6 on average to your rolls.

In D&D 5e duel wielding is TERRIBLE for barbarians. Especially berserkers, who use their bonus action to attack with their main weapon - which really needs to be a two hander to get the most out of it. I think the other two barbarian subclasses in BG3 get something to do with their bonus action too.


If it's the character concept that is important to you, the least-bad way to build it would be to create a fighter with the outlander background. Choose two weapon fighting at level 1 and the Duel Wielder feat at level 4. You can use hand axes until picking up duel wielder.

Edit: a single level dip into barbarian would work. That would give you the barbarian conversation flags, basic rage, and unarmoured defence should you want it (although wearing armour is usually better). You might pick up more levels of barbarian after 6-8 levels of fighter.