Baldur's Gate 3: 11 Tips & Tricks The Game Doesn't Tell You

Playing according to your character's ability scores is incredibly important, but for some reason Larian Studios forgot to explain what these scores mean and which specific skills they influence.

Let's break these down.

Strength:

Simply put, your strength ability score is a reflection of just how strong your character is and is linked to the athletics skill, which determines just how far your character can jump. A weak warlock may, for example, be unable to jump across larger gaps, so taking a spell like 'misty step' might be necessary.

Dexterity:

Your dexterity ability score determines just how nimble you are on your feet, and influences skills like stealth, acrobatics, and sleight of hand. These skills are most useful for disarming traps and using thieves' tools to unlock locked doors, which is why a sneaky rogue does well with a high dexterity score.

Constitution:

In a nutshell, your constitution ability score determines how much health your character has and is useful when making saving throws against elemental factors like smoke. A low constitution might mean that you fall unconscious due to smoke inhalation, for example, so keep this in mind when in a burning building.

Intelligence:

Your intelligence ability score can be described as your character's ability to recall knowledge you have learnt from memory, and thus influences skills like arcana, history, and investigation. Knowing more about the history of an area might remind your character of a secret area known only to a few, which is more than helpful.

Wisdom:

Your wisdom ability score has to do with how attuned you are to the world around you, determining skills like animal handling, perception, and survival. With a low enough wisdom score you won't see the trap in your path, regardless of how bright the sun is shining.

Charisma:

And lastly we have the charisma ability score, which dictates just how well your character operates in social interactions. Since it determines skills like intimidation, deception, and persuasion, the 'face' of your party will need a high charisma score when talking to NPC's found throughout the land.

Now that you understand the ins-and-outs of your character's ability scores, make sure that you play according to your strengths and allow your party members to take on activities you're weaker in. You wouldn't want to try and deceive a creature with a low charisma score, after all.