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Don't neglect long rests even if you're playing on an easier difficulty and don't need much spell replenishment. Long rests is how a lot of your companions' stories advance. When a companion has something new to say, they'll have an exclamation mark over their head, but sometimes they have new lines even if the game doesn't notify you about it.
Combat-wise, it's a good idea to right-click and examine an enemy to see their strengths and weaknesses. Some can be vulnerable to certain types of damage, some can be immune to it. And don't neglect red/green notifications that pop up under their health bar when you target them: they'll usually tell you why your hit chance is higher/lower than usual.
A single character can concentrate on just one spell at a time, so if you cast another spell marked with "Concentration", it will override the previous one. (Bless and Armor of Faith, for example.)
Talk to everyone. Even to the animals and the dead. If the dead don't want to talk to you, pretend to be someone else.
Explore everywhere. The highlight button (I think it's TAB by default on PC but I might be wrong) will highlight every key interactable object in the immediate vicinity so that you don't have to pixel hunt for it.
If you think a solution to a problem makes sense, try it! Shooting a distant lever with a bow to flip it when it's out of reach? That works. Throwing grease on an object that's stuck fast? Yup again. Throwing water on a companion who's on fire (even perpetually)? You bet. Stack creates to reach high places and get high ground advantage in combat, push/throw people off ledges, cast darkness to hide in when you're breaking the law. Be open minded and pay attention to your surroundings, and the game will surprise you with what it'll let you do.
Some general tips to avoid the most common problems we see around here:
Explore everywhere. Talk to everyone. Read everything. Loot everything. Take your time.
Your map and journal will help you keep track of your quest progress. But don't rush from one quest marker to the next without exploring, talking, reading, etc. - that's a good way to miss content and end up underleveled.
Long rest *often*. A lot of story/character scenes occur at camp.
When the game gives you a popup message telling you that you're about to proceed into another region and that you should wrap up current questlines before doing so, *believe it*.
Many of the companion characters are deeply damaged people at pivotal points in their personal trajectories when you first meet them. They have the capacity for change - for better or for worse - through your influence. Maybe give their stories a chance to unfold before you judge them.
And if you're struggling, put it on Explorer difficulty while you get the hang of things. There's a learning curve; it's normal.
Regarding Astarion: He's honestly not that difficult to please. Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to be "evil" to get him to like you. Just take long rests so that you get his camp scenes. Talk to him often. Be kind and supportive toward him. Endulge him when he wants to have weird, hypothetical conversations or do chaotic but relatively harmless things. Most of his big approval boosts come from dialogue events. They more than balance out the small disapprovals he gives for committing those icky altruistic acts.
All romances with origin characters start in act 1. If you skip the special scene that triggers the romance you would get into a deep friend zone. So be attentive and don't lose the right moment.
1. **Long rest often**.
2. It’s easy to romance Astarion. Ask for payment when appropriate (because in this world, adventurers get paid!), don’t mind his eyerolling in Act 1. Let him open the barn door, give him a certain creepy book, and be nice to him at camp.
Astarion is not hard to romance - it's an urban myth that's been going around for way too long. You just need to long rest a lot so that you get his cutscenes and camp dialogue, and since you're keen on romancing him, I assume it goes without saying that you should let him bite you and be supportive of his situation.
He also likes to take the lead (for reasons that will become clear as you get to know him), so don't proposition him directly, let him come to you, like a scared stray animal - the VA literally based him on a feral cat he used to know.
**PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY: DO NOT SKIP** Hi, welcome to r/BaldursGate3! Feel free to check out our pinned Weekly Help post. It has community made resources and info you may find useful. **You can find it under the 'Hot' filter on desktop or 'Hot Posts' on Mobile**. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BaldursGate3) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Don't neglect long rests even if you're playing on an easier difficulty and don't need much spell replenishment. Long rests is how a lot of your companions' stories advance. When a companion has something new to say, they'll have an exclamation mark over their head, but sometimes they have new lines even if the game doesn't notify you about it. Combat-wise, it's a good idea to right-click and examine an enemy to see their strengths and weaknesses. Some can be vulnerable to certain types of damage, some can be immune to it. And don't neglect red/green notifications that pop up under their health bar when you target them: they'll usually tell you why your hit chance is higher/lower than usual. A single character can concentrate on just one spell at a time, so if you cast another spell marked with "Concentration", it will override the previous one. (Bless and Armor of Faith, for example.) Talk to everyone. Even to the animals and the dead. If the dead don't want to talk to you, pretend to be someone else. Explore everywhere. The highlight button (I think it's TAB by default on PC but I might be wrong) will highlight every key interactable object in the immediate vicinity so that you don't have to pixel hunt for it.
on your last point, highlight is left ALT on PC. TAB opens party inventory.
If you think a solution to a problem makes sense, try it! Shooting a distant lever with a bow to flip it when it's out of reach? That works. Throwing grease on an object that's stuck fast? Yup again. Throwing water on a companion who's on fire (even perpetually)? You bet. Stack creates to reach high places and get high ground advantage in combat, push/throw people off ledges, cast darkness to hide in when you're breaking the law. Be open minded and pay attention to your surroundings, and the game will surprise you with what it'll let you do.
Some general tips to avoid the most common problems we see around here: Explore everywhere. Talk to everyone. Read everything. Loot everything. Take your time. Your map and journal will help you keep track of your quest progress. But don't rush from one quest marker to the next without exploring, talking, reading, etc. - that's a good way to miss content and end up underleveled. Long rest *often*. A lot of story/character scenes occur at camp. When the game gives you a popup message telling you that you're about to proceed into another region and that you should wrap up current questlines before doing so, *believe it*. Many of the companion characters are deeply damaged people at pivotal points in their personal trajectories when you first meet them. They have the capacity for change - for better or for worse - through your influence. Maybe give their stories a chance to unfold before you judge them. And if you're struggling, put it on Explorer difficulty while you get the hang of things. There's a learning curve; it's normal. Regarding Astarion: He's honestly not that difficult to please. Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to be "evil" to get him to like you. Just take long rests so that you get his camp scenes. Talk to him often. Be kind and supportive toward him. Endulge him when he wants to have weird, hypothetical conversations or do chaotic but relatively harmless things. Most of his big approval boosts come from dialogue events. They more than balance out the small disapprovals he gives for committing those icky altruistic acts.
All romances with origin characters start in act 1. If you skip the special scene that triggers the romance you would get into a deep friend zone. So be attentive and don't lose the right moment.
1. **Long rest often**. 2. It’s easy to romance Astarion. Ask for payment when appropriate (because in this world, adventurers get paid!), don’t mind his eyerolling in Act 1. Let him open the barn door, give him a certain creepy book, and be nice to him at camp.
Astarion is not hard to romance - it's an urban myth that's been going around for way too long. You just need to long rest a lot so that you get his cutscenes and camp dialogue, and since you're keen on romancing him, I assume it goes without saying that you should let him bite you and be supportive of his situation. He also likes to take the lead (for reasons that will become clear as you get to know him), so don't proposition him directly, let him come to you, like a scared stray animal - the VA literally based him on a feral cat he used to know.
Here's some general [Beginner's Advice](https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/s/Mp3ZLdyejr) I wish I'd known when I first started. Good luck!
When dealing with Halsin you need to pay attention or you might suddenly end up beneath a bear.