Alright folks, buckle up. I finally cracked the code on that infuriating save-scumming loop in Baldur’s Gate 3. You know the one – needing specific gear drops or NPC rolls, reloading twenty times hoping RNGesus smiles? Yeah, that stupid fxxking bad saves stuff. Wasted a whole Sunday afternoon on it. Was ready to chuck my keyboard.
The Breaking Point
Right, so I’m deep into Act 2. Need this one specific amulet from a trader. You gotta pass a DC 18 Persuasion check when he first shows up, otherwise dude just pisses off forever. Simple? Nah. My charisma isn’t sky-high. First try, fail. Reload. Fail again. And again. Like, seriously? Went through fifteen reloads, getting stupider outcomes sometimes than before. Felt cursed. Absolutely pointless.
Started Poking Around Like a Moron
Desperate times. Forget guides, most were just saying “save before talking!” – like I hadn’t thought of that already. Had that stupid thought: what if the game decides the check outcome BEFORE you even click the dialogue? Sounds crazy, right? Decided to test it. Like a total chump.
- Save miles away: I walked Wyll, who had the best chance, waaaay back down some road near the Last Light Inn. Like, nowhere near the trader spot. Quicksaved.
- Walked up: Made him walk alllll the way to where the trader spawns. Got there, trader pops in.
- Immediate reload: Didn’t even talk to the dude! Loaded back to that distant save point. Walked back AGAIN. Trader popped in same spot. Still didn’t talk.
- Saved close: Reloaded the distant save again, walked back, but THIS time, walked right up beside the spawn point before the trader appears. Quicksaved standing right there.
- Triggered the talk: Trader popped, I talked immediately. Failed the check. Reloaded the close save. Popped trader again, talked immediately… failed again. Same damn failure number!
Feeling pretty dumb. Like, wasted an hour walking back and forth doing nothing. But then… tried something even dumber.
The “Before It Happens” Moment (Maybe?)
From that distant save I kept reloading:
- Loaded it again (road save, Wyll far away).
- Walked to the trader spawn point.
- Stopped walking EARLY. Like, still decently far. Where the trader wasn’t visible yet.
- Saved the game RIGHT THERE. Like, the trader hasn’t popped at all. Screen didn’t shift. Nothing.
- Walked the final ten steps to actually trigger the trader spawn. He pops. Talk. Fail. Dammit.
- Reloaded THAT new save. The one before I triggered the spawn. Walked the ten steps again. Trader pops. Talked.
- SUCCESS! Finally passed the bloody check! Nearly fell out of my chair.
Okay… so why did reloading that save before walking those last steps change it? Tried reloading that new save a couple more times. Got failures AND that one success again, randomly. Not consistent.
What Actually Seemed to Work (For Me)
So, forget “save right before talking.” Forget “save right before he pops in.” Seems completely worthless. Here’s what finally stopped driving me insane:
- Get the damn event triggered ONCE. Let the trader spawn normally. Let whatever cutscene happen. See the problem (locked chest, needed roll, etc). Doesn’t matter if you fail. Just SEE it.
- Then, reload a save from BEFORE you triggered the damn thing entering your view. WAY before. Like, a different area before fast traveling there, or walking around a corner before seeing them.
- Now, make a NEW save. That moment before you approach close enough to trigger the spawn/interaction. Make a fresh save point HERE.
- THEN walk forward. Trigger the event again from this new save.
- Check rolls SHOULD vary now. Keep reloading this specific new save you just made. I finally started getting different outcomes on those 18s. Still took 5 tries, but better than 30! Got the damn amulet.
It feels like seeing the event somehow locks in the outcome seed for that instance. So reloading a save after you triggered it visually is just rerolling the same bad dice. Making a brand new save in the “approaching from afar” state seemed to reset that seed. Or something. Not a computer wizard, just know it stopped making me rage-quit.
Tried this later on a tough lockpick chest too. Failed the lockpick multiple times, reloading the save right next to the chest – kept failing. Went back to camp, rested, fast travelled back to the area, walked towards the chest zone but stopped before it was visible on screen, saved there. Then walked up. Chest visible. Used scroll instead of lockpicking because why not? Worked first try. Reloaded that distant walk-up save, lockpicked instead – success. Previously impossible.
So yeah. Stupid. Seems obvious now. Save scumming? Start BEFORE you trigger the world seeing the problem. Open the threshold from far away, losers. Seems to work.