Can you skip fights in Baldur's Gate 3? Stealth, Persuasion & more explained
Baldur's Gate 3 gives you a lot of options for how you play the game, and while there is plenty of combat to take part in, there are ways to avoid fights.
Avoiding fights in Baldur's Gate 3 is a viable strategy for getting through many scenarios throughout the game - but how do you do it, and can you skip every fight?
Baldur's Gate 3 is based directly on Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition, which gives players many options for how they approach a combat situation. Skipping fights is not always an option in this game, but it can be useful if you have the skills to pull it off - so here is what you need to know about skipping fights in Baldur's Gate 3.
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Can you skip fights in Baldur's Gate 3?
Simply, put you can skip some fights in Baldur's Gate 3, but not all of them. This is not the kind of RPG where you can do a totally pacifist run, as there is combat in the tutorial that you cannot avoid, and many fights throughout the game that you have to win in order to progress.
That said, there are plenty of times when there are ways out of a situation other than combat. This usually includes using stealth or charisma in order to bypass or talk your way out of a fight.
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Baldur's Gate 3 Stealth, Persuasion and ways out of a fight
How you avoid a fight in Baldur's Gate 3 largely depends on the fight itself. For example, if we are talking about a situation where you and your party are exploring the world and spot a group of enemies further up the road. This would be an excellent opportunity to employ some stealth.
To enter stealth, you simply need to press the Hide button at the bottom of the screen. You will notice a few things, such as the sun-shaped indicator above your character's head which indicates how visible they are, and the red vision cones of the enemies. Stepping into the vision cone while fully visible will initiate combat immediately. If you are in the vision cone but obscured, you will have to make a skill check to remain undetected.
Persuasion is often another way to avoid combat. This is more often the case when you are encountering characters that, depending on the outcome of your dialogue with them, may result in a battle. In these situations, you may be able to persuade the other person not to start a fight.
Persuasion falls under the Charisma skill in Baldur's Gate 3, which also includes deception, intimidation, and performance - all of which can be used to prevent a fight. Provided you have a high enough Charisma stat, you can roll for persuasion in order to make your potential opponent back down from a fight before it happens.
There are often other ways to avoid battles in Baldur's Gate 3, like making certain decisions or avoiding certain locations. The point is, this is a role-playing game and your role does not only have to be a combatant. If you prefer to play a wise-cracking rogue or a cheeky bard, you can do so, and make your slyness or silver tongue work for you.
That is it for our guide on how to avoid fights in Baldur's Gate 3. For more, head to our Baldur's Gate 3 homepage, or check out our Baldur's Gate 3 open world guide.
About The Author
Dave McAdam
Dave is a Senior Guides Writer at GGRecon, after several years of freelancing across the industry. He covers a wide range of games, with particular focus on shooters like Destiny 2, RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, and fighting games like Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8.
