PSA: Be Careful When You Long Rest in Baldur's Gate 3 - IGN (2024)

Picture this: Faerûn, 1492 DR. You're walking down the road with your pals when you suddenly smell smoke. Around the bend, you come across an inn engulfed in flames. Inside, you can hear multiple voices screaming for help. You know you should rush in and save them, but your party is a bit battered from the last battle with the local goblins. So you sit down, make camp, and take a long rest to make sure you're fit to save everyone. Hours later, your health replenished, you stand up, only to discover the inn has burned to ash and everyone died.

Well, yeah, what did you think was going to happen?

There's been a lot of discussion lately in the Baldur's Gate 3 community about the intersection of long rests, missable events, and quest progression. A number of people have reported finding themselves in situations where a quest seemed to progress without their input, a character moved on from the location they were supposed to meet them in, or someone died because the player didn't help them fast enough. Several theories have been thrown around as to why this is happening, and one prevalent suggestion is that taking too many long rests can push the clock forward and cause certain events to progress.

For instance, one player reported a situation with an early quest involving a druidic ritual they wanted to stop. They claimed they went off to do some other things, but when they came back the ritual had completed and they weren't given a chance to stop it. Multiple other users replied, suggesting the player may have taken too many long rests.

But is that really what's going on? Should we all be terrified of long resting? We checked in with Larian Studios to see if long rests do, in fact, progress the clock forward. This was the studio's reply:

"It’s not about how many long rests you take. but when you choose to take a long rest can have an effect. For instance, if you enter a town and see an inn on fire and you immediately decide to go to bed, that may have consequences."

But that answer from Larian leaves one unanswered question: what's happening, then, with all those people reporting quests moving forward without their input? The answer varies based on the situation, but in most cases, it sounds like players are completing other quests elsewhere that are then influencing events elsewhere in the world. For example, most players meet Lae'zel near the wreck of the Nautilid, but my party accidentally missed her. When we came back to find her, she had moved on. We're not sure what exactly triggered her to disappear, but we'd completed dozens of quests by then, so it's extremely likely something else we did caused her quest to progress. Given the situation she was in, it would have been silly to expect her to hang around anyway.

Additionally, it's worth pointing out that moving from Act 1 to Act 2 will automatically complete most possible Act 1 events and make it impossible to backtrack and pick up those dropped threads. So if you beelined your way through the first act and then wondered why you missed stuff back in Emerald Grove, that's likely the reason.

There you have it, then: If you are in an immediate, urgent situation where someone's about to be murdered or an inn is burning down, don't camp out overnight right in front of it; solve the problem first. But if you're dealing with a more long-term problem, like an infestation of goblins in the next town over, it sounds like you can long rest as much as you like and still have goblins left to boot out.

For more details about how all this stuff works, we've got a guide to all the things Baldur's Gate 3 doesn't tell you, and another guide to resting specifically. And for everything else you didn't know you didn't know about Baldur's Gate 3, check out our guides to Races and Subraces, Classes and Subclasses, and How to Build a Character before you get started, and take a peek at our walkthrough whenever you find yourself stuck.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

PSA: Be Careful When You Long Rest in Baldur's Gate 3 - IGN (2024)

FAQs

PSA: Be Careful When You Long Rest in Baldur's Gate 3 - IGN? ›

"It's not about how many long rests you take. but when you choose to take a long rest can have an effect. For instance, if you enter a town and see an inn on fire and you immediately decide to go to bed, that may have consequences."

Is it bad to take long rests in Baldur's Gate 3? ›

Im paranoid about running short on health/spells/resources, so, is it ok to play it extra safe and just long rest a lot? You can long rest as often as you'd like, provided you have the resources. However, long rests move "time" forward and may affect the outcomes of quests, the availability of NPCs, etc.

How many long rests can you take in Act 3 BG3? ›

The party can take an unlimited number of Long Rests without Orin killing her kidnapping victim. The companion's life is only at risk once Orin is spoken to in the Temple of Bhaal.

How does rest work in BG3? ›

It is helpful to take short rests in between combat or when many of your party members are low on hit points. You are able to take a short rest twice per day. Taking a Long Rest will reset your available Short Rests back to the maximum of two.

What does partial rest do in BG3? ›

If the party lacks the required supplies, they may instead take a partial rest, which restores the following: Restore hit points up to half of their maximum. Restore resources up to half of the character's maximum, rounded down.

What happens if you never rest in BG3? ›

In Baldur's Gate 3, rest is an important mechanic that heals your party and enables them to use their special skills and abilities. Just as in real life, getting a little shut-eye and repairing a weary body is a must. A lack of rest can be disastrous, leading to a swift end to the campaign.

Should I let Astarion bite me? ›

Should you Let Astarion Bite You? Letting Astarion bite you is an easy way to get approval with him. The simple answer is yes, as the only downside is gaining the Bloodless debuff, while Astarion gains the Happy buff and his approval rating of you increases.

What happens if I enter Shadowfell BG3? ›

Entering the Shadowfell can cut off potential progress with several Baldur's Gate 3 companions, with Astarion's storyline, Karlach's quest to fix her internal engine, and several romances losing out on other information that can be found in Act 2.

What triggers the Astarion bite scene? ›

Astarion's attempt to bite the Baldur's Gate 3 protagonist can come as something of a shock, occurring in camp after a long rest early in the campaign. This may not happen at the exact same point in every playthrough, but encountering the exsanguinated boar in Act 1 is necessary to trigger the event.

Does long rest revive BG3? ›

Once you've spoken to Withers, he'll appear back at your camp whenever you take a long rest. If a character has died, you can pay him a hefty sum of gold to bring them back. The good news is that they will also appear in your camp, so you don't need to worry about traipsing all the way back to their corpse.

What happens if you give the hag your eye in BG3? ›

Your new eye gives you +1 on intimidation, but a disadvantage on perception checks and attacks against hags. Perception is an important stat in Baldur's Gate 3, so it depends on whether or not your party can pick up the slack or not.

How often should I camp in BG3? ›

Every 2 to 3 fights is a good general rule.

What is the most op class in Baldur's Gate 3? ›

The Paladin is the strongest class and subclass in Baldur's Gate 3 due to its damage output, survivability, and versatility. The Paladins can access various weapons and armour types, allowing for diverse playstyles. Combining Extra Attack with Divine Smite results in exceptional raw damage potential.

What is the difference between long rest and short rest BG3? ›

The most natural way to rest in BG3 is taking a long rest. Unlike short rest, you can take it only once a day, and it ends the day. Long rest replenishes 50% or more of your own and your team's ability points and restores spell slots and short rests. Moreover, selecting the option brings you and your party to the camp.

What does "until long rest" mean in BG3? ›

For the most part, spells like Mage Armor that have long timers like 8 hours have been turned into "until long rest" in the game. Meaning you cast it in the morning and it lasts until you go to camp for the end of the day. Other spells with shorter timers do count down in real time and in turn-based.

How many long rests before the Grove closes in BG3? ›

The story isn't timed but some side quests are, they'll only trigger the countdown when you get near them so like with that burning building you have to go up towards the Gnoll area to trigger it's countdown, the Druid Grove does have a timer but it's like somewhere around 15 long rests before it closes off.

Should I destroy the brain Baldur's Gate 3? ›

If you roll successfully on either three options, you'll whip the brain out. If you fail the roll, you can always load back and try again, or be faced with either destroying or leaving it. If you destroy it, you'll squash it with no chance to fail. Leaving it in the body ends the quest and Us won't join your party.

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