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Best Baldur’s Gate 3 skills

Your Baldur’s Gate 3 skills are what define your character, here’s what they are, their descriptions, and how they affect the world around you.

Baldur's Gate 3 skills: An elf with point ears rubs their chin in comtemplation.
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Baldur's Gate 3 

What are the best Baldur’s Gate 3 skills? You’ve created the most perfect-looking character, given them a backstory, a class, and formed a weirdly strong bond in little to no time, but what makes them special? Your character’s skills enable them to perform heroic – or dastardly – acts, the numbers on their character sheet that allow them to charm the local merchant, or backflip out of the way of impending death.

Before you start your Baldur’s Gate 3 adventure, you need to get up to speed with your BG3 skills. Making the perfect Baldur’s Gate 3 build isn’t just about which of the classes you choose, or how burly your Dragonborn looks (although that does help), it’s creating a skillset so you can achieve your goals the way you want. Here’s everything you need to know about BG3 skills, what they do, and which of the six BG3 abilities they’re affected by.

Best Baldur’s Gate 3 skills

Here are the best Baldur’s Gate 3 skills:

  • Deception: Sometimes it pays to hide your true feelings when the fate of Faerun hangs in the balance, other times it’s just fun to tamper with the minds of others using nothing but your words.
  • Persuasion: Turn people to your way of thinking, and get them to do what you want. You wouldn’t have made it this far without being able to turn on the charm.
  • Sleight of Hand: Helps you pick locks and pockets, and disarm traps. There isn’t anything more frustrating than a locked door. With the Sleight of Hand skill, there’s nowhere you can’t go, no chest you can’t open, and no pocket you can’t pick.
  • Stealth: Helps you with hiding. Some might think it unsavory to skulk in the darkness, but if you want to survive – and make use of your other ‘talents’ – you’ll need to learn to become invisible.
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All Baldur’s Gate 3 skills

BG3 skills are directly associated with an ability, and your modifier when rolling for these specific skills if the same as the equivalent ability, unless you are granted a proficiency by your race, class, or background – for example, the Acolyte background grants a bonus to Insight and Religion. We’ve listed the associated ability next to the skill in the list below.

Here is every skill in Baldur’s Gate 3:

  • Acrobatics (Dexterity): Keep your balance. Land on your feet. Helps you resist being shoved
  • Animal Handling (Wisdom): Influence animals. Pet all of the dogs.
  • Arcana (Intelligence): Recognize magic. Interact with enchanted items.
  • Athletics (Strength): Stay Fit. Perform physical stunts. Helps you shove and resist being shoved.
  • Deception (Charisma): Lie and cheat. Manipulate the truth.
  • History (Intelligence): Remember the past – of the world and its people.
  • Insight (Wisdom): Read people and situations. Detect lies.
  • Intimidation (Charisma): Be a bully. Threaten and induce fear.
  • Investigation (Intelligence): Analyze clues. Solve mysteries.
  • Medicine (Wisdom): Recognize symptoms. Diagnose disease.
  • Nature (Intelligence): Recognize plants and animals. Hug trees.
  • Perception (Wisdom): Observe your environment. Spot hidden details.
  • Performance (Charisma): Entertain audiences. Command the stage.
  • Persuasion (Charisma): Turn on the charm. Coax and cajole.
  • Religion (Intelligence): Recognize deities. Understand holy rites.
  • Sleight of Hand (Dexterity): Wield nimble fingers. Steal Stuff. Helps you pick locks and pockets, and disarm traps.
  • Stealth (Dexterity): Stay out of sight. Melt into the shadows. Helps you with hiding.
  • Survival (Wisdom): Stay alive in the wilds. Track prey.

Now you know which Baldur’s Gate 3 skills are perfect for your character, it should be easy to make the best build for you. Of course, you’re never guaranteed a natural 20 on any roll, so you might want to know how to revive characters in BG3 for when that all-important roll fails. You can never be too careful.

When he's not writing guides at PCGamesN, PK is usually found waiting for the respawn timer in League of Legends, hanging around a tavern in Baldur's Gate 3, or fighting his way through the Settled Systems in Starfield. PK's extensive knowledge of video games is matched only by his extensive wardrobe of flannel shirts, which he has been curating since he was born, proving he was always meant to be a games journalist. He watches an episode of Star Trek every night before bed, and he loves toast, even though it makes him feel a bit sick. Buttery goodness exacts a heavy toll, one that he's willing to pay.