Baldur's Gate Baldur's Gate 3 - tips, tricks & helpful information

[Haplo]

Honour feature with Tactician
It was fast

Cool. Might be the first mod I install.
As I don't feel like restarting now that I'm in Act 3.

Playing the whole thing on Honour mode could be fun but... its pretty huge really. And not sure yet I want to repeat it.

 

[Grunker]

Honour feature with Tactician
It was fast

ah, sperg modders. What would we do without you

The author made this mod as well, which seems like a promising difficulty overhaul, adding enemies and even new enemy types with new abilities.

 

[Rhobar121]

I'm currently testing a mod that increases the difficulty level.
https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/4714
Of course, it's too absurd to be playable without adjusting the values to some decent value.
Over +30 dmg for every enemy at level 10 is a bit too much just increasing AC by 6.

 

[Haplo]

The application of the Honour mode action stacking rules is so refreshing in ho much it openes the vaiable tactics and approach to battles. Getting 10+ attacks per round was really silly and made everything else not worth using.

 

[Grunker]

I'm currently testing a mod that increases the difficulty level.
https://www.nexusmods.com/baldursgate3/mods/4714
Of course, it's too absurd to be playable without adjusting the values to some decent value.
Over +30 dmg for every enemy at level 10 is a bit too much just increasing AC by 6.

I like the look of that Death March mod much better tbh

 

[Shaki]

Eh, the application of the Honour mode action stacking rules is so refreshing in ho much it openes the vaiable tactics and approach to battles. Getting 10+ attacks per round was really silly and made everything else not worth using.

It might actually end up being a decent turn based combat game, after a year or two.

 

[Haplo]

Eh, the application of the Honour mode action stacking rules is so refreshing in ho much it openes the vaiable tactics and approach to battles. Getting 10+ attacks per round was really silly and made everything else not worth using.

It might actually end up being a decent turn based combat game, after a year or two.

Could be sooner then that.
Actually in my book its already more then a decent turn based game.

With some time and couple mods it could become a "timeless classic".

 

[Rhobar121]

There's a lot you can say about Larian, but they definitely know how to design fights. They have problems with balance and their own rules, but if you take care of these two things for them, something very good will come out.

 

[cruel]

This keeps crashing on me, each and every time after 45min-55min of playing. Things I already tried:
- switching between Vulkan and DirectX
- disabling launcher
- disabling Steam overlay
- deleting LevelCache files
- checking files integrity in Steam
- new GPU drivers

Any other obvious things I should try? No mods. PC is i7 12700K, 32GB RAM, 6700 XT, 850W PSU.

The thing that bothers me the most about it is the timing of crashes - I found it fishy that it's ALWAYS 45-55min. I never crossed 1h, but also never crashed sooner. Almost like a timer.

 

[Rhobar121]

This keeps crashing on me, each and every time after 45min-55min of playing. Things I already tried:
- switching between Vulkan and DirectX
- disabling launcher
- disabling Steam overlay
- deleting LevelCache files
- checking files integrity in Steam
- new GPU drivers

Any other obvious things I should try? No mods. PC is i7 12700K, 32GB RAM, 6700 XT, 850W PSU.

The thing that bothers me the most about it is the timing of crashes - I found it fishy that it's ALWAYS 45-55min. I never crossed 1h, but also never crashed sooner. Almost like a timer.

This is strange because I have the same card, only a worse processor, and the game crashed at most once.
Let me quote a classic: "It works for me."
Is it just the game that shuts down or maybe the entire computer?
If that I would check the temperatures on the components.

 

[Grunker]

I found it fishy that it's ALWAYS 45-55min. I never crossed 1h, but also never crashed sooner. Almost like a timer.

Other than a temp issues, last time I had something like this was Deadfire, and it was a memory leak issue with the game. Try checking memory usage when the critical timing starts coming up. Not your GPU memory because games will nearly always use this to full capacity (they're just setting the memory aside in case it needs to use it), but your normal memory.

 

[cruel]

This keeps crashing on me, each and every time after 45min-55min of playing. Things I already tried:
- switching between Vulkan and DirectX
- disabling launcher
- disabling Steam overlay
- deleting LevelCache files
- checking files integrity in Steam
- new GPU drivers

Any other obvious things I should try? No mods. PC is i7 12700K, 32GB RAM, 6700 XT, 850W PSU.

The thing that bothers me the most about it is the timing of crashes - I found it fishy that it's ALWAYS 45-55min. I never crossed 1h, but also never crashed sooner. Almost like a timer.

This is strange because I have the same card, only a worse processor, and the game crashed at most once.
Let me quote a classic: "It works for me."
Is it just the game that shuts down or maybe the entire computer?
If that I would check the temperatures on the components.

Initially it was a 50-50 between full PC crash and game itself crashing. Recent few crashes (after updating the drivers, clearing cache etc.) are always the game itself crashing. Thanks for the info regarding the GPU, I was almost considering blaming it for the failure and potentially replacing, seems like a wrong path here. I have Noctua NH-D15 on my CPU, so temps should be OK, but will check CPU and GPU temps just to be sure, thanks.

I found it fishy that it's ALWAYS 45-55min. I never crossed 1h, but also never crashed sooner. Almost like a timer.

Other than a temp issues, last time I had something like this was Deadfire, and it was a memory leak issue with the game. Try checking memory usage when the critical timing starts coming up. Not your GPU memory because games will nearly always use this to full capacity (they're just setting the memory aside in case it needs to use it), but your normal memory.

Interesting, thanks, didn't think about memory. If something wrong with RAM, maybe it will come out during some benchmarking as well.

But, memory leak would still mean game's fault, not hardware issue, right? I will still check on that, just wanted to make sure.

 

[King Crispy]

If you had bad RAM then the entire system would bluescreen and crash, not just the game.

You say that you've tried "new GPU drivers", but did you run Display Driver Uninstaller while in Safe Mode after uninstalling the current ones and before installing the new ones?

 

[Rhobar121]

This keeps crashing on me, each and every time after 45min-55min of playing. Things I already tried:
- switching between Vulkan and DirectX
- disabling launcher
- disabling Steam overlay
- deleting LevelCache files
- checking files integrity in Steam
- new GPU drivers

Any other obvious things I should try? No mods. PC is i7 12700K, 32GB RAM, 6700 XT, 850W PSU.

The thing that bothers me the most about it is the timing of crashes - I found it fishy that it's ALWAYS 45-55min. I never crossed 1h, but also never crashed sooner. Almost like a timer.

This is strange because I have the same card, only a worse processor, and the game crashed at most once.
Let me quote a classic: "It works for me."
Is it just the game that shuts down or maybe the entire computer?
If that I would check the temperatures on the components.

Initially it was a 50-50 between full PC crash and game itself crashing. Recent few crashes (after updating the drivers, clearing cache etc.) are always the game itself crashing. Thanks for the info regarding the GPU, I was almost considering blaming it for the failure and potentially replacing, seems like a wrong path here. I have Noctua NH-D15 on my CPU, so temps should be OK, but will check CPU and GPU temps just to be sure, thanks.

I found it fishy that it's ALWAYS 45-55min. I never crossed 1h, but also never crashed sooner. Almost like a timer.

Other than a temp issues, last time I had something like this was Deadfire, and it was a memory leak issue with the game. Try checking memory usage when the critical timing starts coming up. Not your GPU memory because games will nearly always use this to full capacity (they're just setting the memory aside in case it needs to use it), but your normal memory.

Interesting, thanks, didn't think about memory. If something wrong with RAM, maybe it will come out during some benchmarking as well.

But, memory leak would still mean game's fault, not hardware issue, right? I will still check on that, just wanted to make sure.

With 32GB of RAM, it's certainly not the game's fault.

 

[soulburner]

Finding the cause of crashes is no easy task, especially because a faulty or misconfigured hardware can cause freezes or crashes in a specific application or game - not necessarily the whole system.

- check if you've got any kind of MSI Afterburner type of software running in the background, might be some setting that's causing the instability;
- to test the GPU I recommend running Quake 2 RTX. While it's completely unrelated to BG3 I found it most reliable when checking GPU undervolt/overclock settings, so it's good for general GPU stability testing, too;
- you should absolutely monitor the temperatures of both the CPU and GPU. Even with a generally good cooling solution there's always something that could go wrong: maybe your PC ate a lot of dust lately or the thermal solution turned into plastic... or the fans got disconnected and don't spin;
- test your RAM by going to the UEFI/BIOS settings and disabling XMP or any overclock you may have done and don't even remember. Run the memory at the default values, which will most likely result in some laughably low frequency, but good for testing;
- never, ever underestimate the significance of the power supply, especially if it's a cheap brick or an old (10 years+) unit from an older PC build.

 

[cruel]

If you had bad RAM then the entire system would bluescreen and crash, not just the game.

You say that you've tried "new GPU drivers", but did you run Display Driver Uninstaller while in Safe Mode after uninstalling the current ones and before installing the new ones?

Interesting that you mention DDU. I actually had it installed (I was going from GTX 1070 Ti), but at the first screen it welcomed me with something like 'important - most of the time you don't need DDU unless you have severe problems', so I closed and never used it after all. Maybe it was a mistake after all, will try a proper clean install then.

Finding the cause of crashes is no easy task, especially because a faulty or misconfigured hardware can cause freezes or crashes in a specific application or game - not necessarily the whole system.

- check if you've got any kind of MSI Afterburner type of software running in the background, might be some setting that's causing the instability;
- to test the GPU I recommend running Quake 2 RTX. While it's completely unrelated to BG3 I found it most reliable when checking GPU undervolt/overclock settings, so it's good for general GPU stability testing, too;
- you should absolutely monitor the temperatures of both the CPU and GPU. Even with a generally good cooling solution there's always something that could go wrong: maybe your PC ate a lot of dust lately or the thermal solution turned into plastic... or the fans got disconnected and don't spin;
- test your RAM by going to the UEFI/BIOS settings and disabling XMP or any overclock you may have done and don't even remember. Run the memory at the default values, which will most likely result in some laughably low frequency, but good for testing;
- never, ever underestimate the significance of the power supply, especially if it's a cheap brick or an old (10 years+) unit from an older PC build.

Thanks, will go through that. No Afterburner and no O/C on the GPU, but I will check other parts. PSU - I bought a new Corsair 850W, so should be fine.


Another possible alternative I'm thinking about is to re-plug old GTX 1070 Ti and try to see if it's also crashing. If not, the issue needs to be related to new GPU in some way - either drivers or GPU itself.

 

[cruel]

Interesting. 3min of stress-testing using Prime95 brings the temperature of my P-Cores to 95C - I know that 12700KF can get hot, but it does look quite high for a system with Noctua NH-D15 doing the cooling, right?

 

[soulburner]

Interesting. 3min of stress-testing using Prime95 brings the temperature of my P-Cores to 95C - I know that 12700KF can get hot, but it does look quite high for a system with Noctua NH-D15 doing the cooling, right?

If you have all the power limits removed - and some motherboards do it by default - reaching and exceeding 90*C on an xx700K class of Intel Core is pretty much normal and expected. There are a few solutions out there and the most accessible one is undervolting (it's pretty easy once you find a good tutorial and contrary to popular belief it does not reduce performance). Some people will use weird additional frames for the socket to somehow improve thermal properties or even go as far as delidding. Of course, the more you look into the depths of youtube and reddit the more it becomes apparent air cooling is for the plebs and without a beefy water cooling solution you should not buy anything stronger than a Core i5 xx600.

So I would check the following things:
- undervolt (it might be as easy as applying a voltage offset in the BIOS, but I haven't looked into that)
- check the fans in your case: their number, their speed and their locations (more fans != better cooling). Verify if the case itself has good ventilation properties
- think about reapplying the thermal paste only if undervolting and optimizing your ventilation brings no effects
and maybe you will get to <=90 degrees.

It's worth to keep in mind barely any software will stress your CPU as much as Prime95 or Cinebench do.

 

[cruel]

So, I was able to play for 70min straight on Saturday, after implementing suggestions from this reddit post.

Temps looked like this (left is before playing, right is after 70min, max was zeroed before starting):

https://imgur.com/a/4am5ShM


But, when playing today, the game crashed my whole PC after 40min. Sigh. It seems I will need spend some time going through the items posted above after all: temps, fans, possibly re-applying thermal paste, and undervolting the CPU if other options fail.

Event Viewer is showing Event ID 41, Source Kernel-Power:

The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.

But PSU is brand new (Corsair RM 850W). So probably unrelated and just generic crash message. WhoCrashed doesn't show any dumps created unfortunately.

 

[Modron]

Your computer is trying to do you a favor.

 

[soulburner]

Aside from evil spirits one more thing you could do is... reassemble the system. Reset the BIOS settings to defaults and then disconnect everything: all disks, cables, add-on cards, everything. Reconnect with extra care to make sure everything sits deep and nice. If you're using a vertical GPU mount, try without it. Evil spirits can sometimes cause weird incompatibilities: your GPU model may cause issues with your config but work fine in another. That same GPU model, just a different part, may also work fine with your PC. It's extremely rare but I witnessed it myself once and I think jayz2cents talked about a similar case a few months ago.

The main problem is finding a PC enthusiast friend who could stop by with his machine and you could exchange some of your hardware. Your PSU may be new and powerful enough to run 4 such systems, but you may have lost the hardware lottery and got a faulty one. I understand your headache - I fix computers all the time at work and there are so many voodoo cases where after trying several things I do not know what was the ultimate fix.

BTW, suggestions in that reddit post are bullshit.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

I haven't had hardware issues in years. I used to fix computers all of the time 20 years ago. Now things work for years until they die suddenly without warning--typically the mobo. The only RAM I've ever had go bad on me is on laptops.

 

[Haplo]

I haven't had hardware issues in years. I used to fix computers all of the time 20 years ago. Now things work for years until they die suddenly without warning--typically the mobo. The only RAM I've ever had go bad on me is on laptops.

Yeah, used to be that I needed to replace some parts (most frequently power supply and hard drives) or upgrade the computer nearly yearly. Nowadays a computer lasts me 5-10 years without any maintenance...

 

[Haplo]

For the Honour mode I'm quite enjoying a Sword Bard 6 / Blade Warlock 3 / Oath of Devotion Paladin 3.
Unfortunately in practice its a respec build I guess. And Warlock is the least critical part. On the other hand, I started with Warlock, so I prefer to keep it. And Blade Pact + Gloves of Dexterity mean I only need to worry about Charisma and, to a lesser dgree, Con. Plus Mirror Image, Armor of Agathys, Misty Step and the occassional Hellish Rebuke are nice. Oh and Mortal Reminder on crits.

Slashing Flourish + Bhaalist Armor Aura of Murder + Nyrulna piercing Reach weapon, such as Breaching Pikestaff, is pretty cool ....can also get guaranteed crits (Luck of the Far Realms + Killer's Sweetheart), smites and even paralyse (Surgeon Subjugation Amulet) on bosses...

 

[Haplo]

I also use Astarion Rogue 3 / Sword Bard dual wielding hand crossbows.
In general I can recommend a ranged caster hybrid with a Hat of Arcane Acuity, the Drakethroat Glaive to enchant a ranged weapon with Cold and Snowburst ring. Sword Bard is great with Slashing Fluorish - Ranged (and/or Arrows of Many Targets).
DC 25+ slippery Ice patches for everyone!

Plus the Band of Mythic Scoundrel for Bonus Action CC spells, of course.