Alright folks, let’s talk about something that bugged me for ages in Baldur’s Gate 3. You know when one of your buddies gets knocked out cold in a fight? They’re just lying there, not dead yet, but definitely out of the action. I always wondered: Do they still get experience points? Does lying there unconscious count? I had to find out, especially since I hate feeling like someone’s missing out because they got wrecked early.
Setting the Stage
Jumped into my save file yesterday, somewhere in Act 1. Made sure Gale was the guinea pig – mostly ’cause he tends to eat dirt pretty quick. Found a small group of goblins near the blighted village. Perfect little punching bag encounter.
What I Tried First
Okay, here’s how it went down step-by-step:
- Made Gale stand somewhere dumb. Got him up on a ledge where the goblins could see him nice and easy.
- Let the goblins wail on him. Sure enough, after a couple of hits, he was down. You know the drill – making death saving throws.
- Made sure the other party members didn’t help him. Left him bleeding out on the ground. Heartless? Maybe. Science? Definitely.
- Killed all the goblins with my other characters. Had Shadowheart chucking Sacred Flame, Tav swinging a big axe, the usual stuff.
- Checked the XP bar before anyone healed Gale. Big moment.
The First Result (And Reloading)
Boom. Fight’s over. Goblin corpses everywhere. Gale is still face down in the dirt. Hovered over my XP bar… it showed the exact XP I expected from killing those goblins. Like Gale wasn’t even there for the fight. He was breathing, technically, but the game didn’t care. My main party got all the credit.
But hey, maybe healing him after the fight triggered it? Nope. Revived Gale with a healing word. His portrait popped back up. Checked XP again. Nothing extra added for him. Poor sod got zero for all that bleeding.
Reloaded the save just to be sure I wasn’t crazy. Same fight, same setup. This time, I had Shadowheart heal Gale during the fight, before the last goblin kicked it. Got him back on his feet while the fight was still hot.
- Healed Gale mid-fight.
- Finished off the goblins.
Checked XP: Now Gale got his full share. Just like the others. Boom.
The Simple Truth
So here’s the dirt: If your companion is down and making death saves when the fight ENDS, they get SQUAT. Zero XP. Doesn’t matter that they got hit a bunch. Doesn’t matter that they technically participated until they fell. If they aren’t conscious and standing when the last enemy dies, no credit for them. They gotta be UP when the victory music plays.
It’s harsh, right? Feels like being punished twice. First you get knocked out, then you miss out on the rewards. Just another reason to panic-heal those downed buddies the second you can! This little experiment saved me a lot of future frustration. Now I know I gotta get ’em up before the killing blow, or it’s like they never helped at all.