Baldur's Gate 3 won the 2023 Game of the Year and completed a historic "grand slam" of gaming awards. If you're starting fresh, this guide covers the essentials: 10 starting tips, difficulty & origin choice, race and class picks, and the complete keyboard layout.
1. Ten Starting Tips
- Save frequently — before dialogue and combat; try different options to see different cutscenes (save files are large, clean up old ones)
- High ground boosts ranged accuracy
- Stealth increases melee hit chance
- Right-click enemies to inspect their stats before fighting
- Use terrain kills — push enemies off cliffs for instant victories
- Watch turn order — focus-fire enemies who act next to reduce losses
- Press Alt to highlight all interactable objects — search thoroughly
- Observe terrain for hidden passages and loot
- Recruit all prologue companions
- Don't kill NPCs indiscriminately
2. Difficulty & Origin Choice
For new players: choose Balanced difficulty (the "authentic" experience) and a Custom origin — not an Origin character, and definitely NOT the "Dark Urge", which is the least beginner-friendly start.
- Balanced difficulty — the intended experience, neither too easy nor punishing
- Custom origin — you keep full story freedom (Origin characters lock you into their personal quests, losing some story branches)
- Avoid the Dark Urge — it has forced dark story events that overwhelm new players
3. Race Recommendations
These races combine good looks with solid power:
Love dragons? The Dragonborn looks awesome too — a valid style pick.
4. Class Recommendations for New Players
Simple and powerful — control + damage + sustain, high tolerance for mistakes, works melee or ranged.
Very high hit rate and damage.
Huge single-target burst, great for gathering resources. Be careful with "evil" acts — they trigger a debuff (can be avoided by reloading).
Jack-of-all-trades — team buffs and dice bonuses.
5. Complete Keyboard Layout
Keyboard + mouse is strongly recommended over a controller. Here's the full key reference:
Camera & Movement
| Function | Key |
|---|---|
| Tactical view toggle | O |
| Camera forward / back / left / right | W / S / A / D |
| Camera rotate left / right | Del / End |
| Camera center | Home |
| Zoom in / out | Page Up / Page Down |
| Rotate camera | Hold Middle Mouse |
Combat & Interaction
| Function | Key |
|---|---|
| Interact | Left Click |
| Enter / leave turn-based mode | Space |
| End turn | Space |
| Combat toggle | Tab |
| Switch next / previous character | [ / ] |
| Select character | F1 / F2 / F3 / F4 |
| Stealth toggle | C |
| Climb toggle | Left Shift |
| Break mode toggle | Left Ctrl |
| Cancel action | Esc |
Menus & Info
| Function | Key |
|---|---|
| Inventory | I |
| Equipment | E |
| Character panel | N / B |
| Spellbook | K |
| Map | M |
| Journal | L |
| Crafting | G |
| Party management | Y |
| Quick save / load | F5 / F8 |
| Highlight objects | Alt |
| Take all | Space |
Key rule: save early, save often. F5 is your best friend — press it before every conversation, every fight, every door.
Quick start: Balanced difficulty + Custom origin → pick Human/Elf + Fighter → remember Alt (loot) and F5 (save) → recruit every companion. You're ready.