Getting My Butt Kicked Early On
Alright, so I fired up Baldur’s Gate 3 ready for some fun. Figured, you know, just go in swinging swords like any old game. Boy, was that stupid. Walked straight into that first group outside the crashed ship – the brains-on-legs guys and some warriors. Tried trading blows, figuring it was fair. My little level 1 party got stomped flat. Tried that fight four times. Four times! Kept ending up with my guys dead on the ground while the enemies barely broke a sweat. Super frustrating. Felt like banging my head against a brick wall. Needed a different angle.
Falling Down (Literally) Became My Best Friend
Right, so smacking faces head-on clearly wasn’t working. Time to use the darn environment. Started looking around fights for high ground, cliffs, bridges, anything with a drop. Saw an enemy near a ledge? Forget attacking. My first move became the SHOVE action. Cost me almost nothing to try. One character walks up, shoves. Sometimes they resist, sometimes they wobble but stand firm. But when it worked? Oh man. When they actually fall? That’s gold. Doesn’t just hurt them when they hit the bottom. Nope. Puts them way out of position, takes them ages to climb back up. Lets my other characters blast them or fight the rest easier. And when shoving wasn’t an option? If there was high ground, I sent my archers or spellcasters scrambling up there like squirrels. Shooting down? Way easier to hit stuff. Enemies shooting up? They miss way more. Simple little trick. Why didn’t I do this sooner?
Things Got Explosive… and Slightly Cheesy
Okay, shoving and high ground got me past some fights, but some groups were still packed tight and nasty. Cue the barrel shenanigans. BG3 loves putting oil barrels, smokepowder barrels, firewine barrels – basically explody hazards – EVERYWHERE. Started thinking… what if I put them there? Before starting a big fight I knew was coming, I had my strongest character do some overtime. See an explosive barrel? Pick it up. Carry it quietly. Sneak it right into the middle of where the bad guys like to hang out. Sometimes I’d stack two or three, like a really unstable pyramid. Then? Back away slowly.
- Start the Fight: Let my sneaky character trigger the fight from a distance. Bad guys rush to where they thought was safe.
- Light ‘Em Up: Have literally anyone shoot a fire bolt or throw a basic torch at the barrel pile. Boom.
Stupid as hell? Probably. Effective? Absolutely. Watched entire groups just evaporate or get burned badly right out the gate. Takes setup, and sometimes enemies walk around them, but when it works? Oh boy, it WORKS.
Ganging Up on the Stragglers
Even after explosions and shoving, there are always one or two tough guys left standing. This is where the final piece clicked. Instead of spreading out my attacks, I stopped letting my characters just hit whoever was closest. Saw an enemy almost dead? Screw whatever else that character was doing. Everyone capable of hitting that near-dead guy turned on him like a pack of wolves. Focus fire. One character attacks. Next character attacks. Maybe the third one lands the killing blow. That enemy goes down instantly. Now it’s one less attacker hitting me back. Then move onto the next one. Rinse and repeat. Turns out, taking enemies off the board fast beats chipping away at multiple targets slowly.
Putting it All Together – My Win Button
So here’s the rundown of how almost every fight goes now, step by step:
- Scout & Prep: Peek before talking or triggering. See any nearby cliffs? See any explody barrels? If barrels, sneak in like a thief and deposit them neatly where the enemy party drinks their morning coffee. High ground nearby? Position my shooters/mages on it quietly.
- Start Dirty: Initiate the fight from surprise if possible. Usually with the guy furthest back lighting the barrel bonfire. BOOM. Watch the carnage.
- Height & Shoves: Any survivors? Shove the guys near ledges off ASAP. Keep my fragile fighters up high raining arrows or spells down. Enemy casters/ranged on high ground? Shove them off first chance I get.
- Focus Fire Down: Pick the enemy looking the roughest. Everyone who can reach them targets them. Eliminate them completely. Move to the next target. Crush them one by one.
- Clean Up: Mop up the last guy. Grab the loot. Feel slightly less like a punching bag.
Is it always elegant? Nope. Does it feel cheap using shoves and barrel bombs sometimes? Maybe a little. But hey, after getting my face pushed in repeatedly at the start, figuring out this combo turned the tables. Went from getting wiped constantly to actually clearing fights without needing to save-scum every minute. They don’t all go perfectly – sometimes a shove misses, sometimes you blow yourself up, sometimes the enemies spread out. But sticking to this plan? Made a world of difference. Suddenly, fights feel winnable, almost predictable. Feels good, man.