My First Attempt at Athletics in BG3 Was a Mess
Okay so I fired up Baldur’s Gate 3 last Tuesday thinking Athletics would just work automatically. Boy was I wrong. My wizard kept failing every single shove attempt like a weakling trying to push a brick wall. Felt so stupid watching goblins shove my party members into chasms while my guy just waved his arms pathetically.
How I Fixed My Disaster Playthrough
First I deleted that garbage wizard save file – total embarrassment. Started fresh with a Half-Orc barbarian named “Thumpy” since everyone online says strength matters big time for Athletics. Made sure to crank STR to 17 during character creation. Sounds obvious but honestly I used to dump all points into charisma like an idiot.
During the Nautiloid ship intro I went nuts with experimentation:
- Shoved brains in jars off ledges like hockey pucks
- Jumped over exploding tanks to reach higher platforms
- Threw crates at imps just to hear the bonk sound
- Shoved a mindflayer into a chasm (took 3 reloads but felt glorious)
Key realization? Athletics triggers any time you see that little muscle icon during dice rolls. Wasn’t just combat stuff – I failed retrieving a body from swamp water earlier cuz I treated it like a dex check. Nope – that’s pure Athletics muscle work.
Game-Changing Combat Tricks
By Act 2 my party could actually wrestle properly. Best tactics I found:
- Shoving enemies into your own fire/acid traps = 10x damage
- Jumping OVER frontline fighters to stomp squishy mages
- Throwing healing potions at downed allies from 10m away
- Shoving archers off watchtowers so they take falling damage
Saved my ass against Ketheric Thorm – chucked bone piles to clear pathways while jumping between platforms. Before this I’d just face tank everything like a dummy.
Why This Changed My Whole Playstyle
Used to think Athletics was just optional flavor – total nonsense. Now my barbarian feels like the team quarterback clearing paths through goblins like tackling dummies. Final tip? Always have STR gear like Bull’s Strength gloves. That + proficiency bonus + high strength score = god tier shoving. Went from failing basic shoves to body launching minotaurs. Feels amazing crushing people with gravity and big muscles!