Your character’s abilities and proficiencies in Baldur’s Gate 3 define their capabilities, showcasing their inherent talents, training, and equipment proficiency, including weapons and armor. These skills play a crucial role for all characters, particularly those specializing in utility classes like the Bard and Rogue. In the following sections, we’ll delve into comprehensive details about these skills, providing you with essential knowledge.
Prime Skills in Baldur’s Gate 3
The most outstanding abilities in Baldur’s Gate 3 encompass a diverse range, their effectiveness often reliant on specific situations. To optimize your gameplay, it’s essential to select skills that not only complement your preferred style but also fill in gaps that your party members might lack. Below, we present our top five recommended skills that should always accompany you on your journey.
- Perception: Having a high Perception score is essential for detecting hidden dangers like traps, secrets, and valuable treasures that might otherwise go unnoticed. In treacherous dungeons filled with concealed hazards, a keen sense of perception could mean the difference between survival and peril.
- Stealth: The advantage of moving unnoticed cannot be overstated. Mastering Stealth allows you to gain a surprise advantage in combat through ambushes or even avoid engagements that could prove overwhelming. It provides a significant edge in various situations.
- Persuasion: Possessing the power of persuasion is akin to possessing a superpower. With high charm and effective negotiation skills, you can defuse dangerous situations, secure better rewards, and achieve favorable outcomes. Persuasion often proves more prevalent than its counterpart, Deception, while carrying fewer inherent risks.
- Athletics: While often overlooked, Athletics plays a vital role, not only in specific context challenges but also in executing the potent “Shove” ability. Additionally, it determines your resistance to being shoved, unless you excel in Acrobatics, which then takes precedence.
- Sleight of Hand: This skill centers on manual dexterity and encompasses a wide range of activities, from disarming traps and lockpicking to pickpocketing and entertaining coin tricks. If you’re building a rogue or a character inclined towards theft, Sleight of Hand is a must-have. While Perception aids in spotting traps, it’s Sleight of Hand that enables you to disarm and disable them safely.
How Skills and Proficiencies Work in Baldur’s Gate 3
In Baldur’s Gate 3, Skills and Proficiencies play a crucial role in determining your character’s capabilities in various situations. Whenever you attempt an action, the game calculates the outcome using the following formula:
- D20 roll + (ability modifier) + (Proficiency bonus IF proficient) + (Miscellaneous bonuses, if any)
For instance, let’s consider a scenario where your Bard intends to deceive their way into an exclusive party by claiming to be on the guest list. This requires a Deception check, which relies on the Charisma ability, with a modifier of +3. Since your Bard is proficient in Deception, they gain an additional +2 proficiency bonus. Consequently, the total modifier for the roll becomes +5, as shown in the following equation.
- D20 roll + Charisma modifier (3) + Proficiency bonus (2)
More Baldur’s Gate 3 Guides
- Baldur’s Gate 3 companions
- Baldur’s Gate 3 romances
- Baldur’s Gate 3 Karlach
- Baldur’s Gate 3 Halsin
How to Revive Dead Characters in Baldur’s Gate 3
The Proficiency bonus may vary, starting at +2 here. At level 1 in Baldur’s Gate 3, your character begins with a +2 Proficiency bonus, which is added to rolls for any skill they are proficient in. This bonus increases by 1 every 4 levels, progressing throughout the game until reaching the level cap.
Even if you lack proficiency in certain skills, you can still attempt to use them, but without the additional Proficiency bonus. Some Baldur’s Gate 3 classes, like the Rogue or Bard, possess abilities that can assist in such situations. For example, the Bard gains the “Jack of All Trades” feature, allowing them to apply half of their Proficiency bonus to skills they are not proficient in. Additionally, in specific contexts, the advantage and disadvantage mechanics of Baldur’s Gate 3 can come into play.
Moreover, proficiency is essential for certain equipment to be fully effective. In Baldur’s Gate 3, Proficiency bonuses are added to weapon attacks, increasing the chances of hitting your target. Similarly, wearing Armor requires proficiency; failure to do so may lead to disadvantages in certain actions and prevent spellcasting.
How to Get More Skills and Proficiencies in Baldur’s Gate 3
To gain more Skills and Proficiencies in Baldur’s Gate 3, players receive a set number of Skill Proficiencies during character creation, determined by their class and selected background. The class allows you to choose a few Skills from an approved list during character creation, while the background provides additional Skill Proficiencies. Additionally, certain races in Baldur’s Gate 3, such as Elves, have default Skill Proficiencies as part of their racial abilities, like Perception. Beyond character creation, there are two primary methods to acquire new:
Skills: Leveling up and acquiring feats or abilities, both enhancing your character’s capabilities.
Feats: As characters progress in levels, they have the opportunity to select Feats at levels 4, 8, and 12. The Skilled Feat allows you to handpick three Skills of your preference. Other Feats, however, grant access to specific Skills and equipment Proficiencies.
Class and Subclass abilities: Throughout their journey, various classes unlock new Skill Proficiencies. For instance, if a Bard chooses the College of Valor Subclass, they gain a selection of additional equipment Proficiencies. Likewise, a Life Cleric learns how to wield Heavy Armor, expanding their range of available Proficiencies.
