Summary
Killing enemies is a lot easier when they don’t see you coming. Of all the ways you can start a fight inBaldur’s Gate 3,one of them is to simply hide somewhere no one can see you and attack them instead of triggering any sort of conversation with the NPC beforehand — and that’s very effective, as surprised opponents lose their first turn in combat.
Though any character can sneak around and ambush their enemies, some characters will have an easier time than others — it’s only a matter of how you build your characters and what abilities they have. So, how do you create the perfect ghost character?
5Beware The Light And Line Of Sight
A good thing about this game is that you can see enemies' line of sight. Every time you hide, red marks will appear, showing the direction each NPC is looking at. By avoiding these red areas, anyone, even a heavy-armored Fighter with negative Dexterity, can successfully sneak around and get enemies by surprise.
Still, you don’t necessarily get caught just because you’ve entered the line of sight. If the light — or the lack of it — is in your favor, there’s still a chance enemies won’t see you, so, if possible, always walk around in areas that are not directly in the open or stay away from light sources, such as torches that may be on the walls.
When you are in the line of sight, but the place is dark — which you’ll be able to know through the obscured or lightly-obscured conditions — you’ll roll aStealth Ability Check,and, if you succeed, you won’t be noticed.
If you remain in the line of sight, you’ll repeat this test until you leave it or fail.
We recommend using Turn-Base Mode when you know you have to walk through someone’s line of sight, controlling when these Ability Checks will trigger.
4Choose A Class That Favors Stealth
We’ve mentioned every class can sneak around flawlessly as long as you’re not in someone’s line of sight, but some classes will still perform better than others. It probably goes without saying, butRoguesare the prime example of the best class for this sort of endeavor, but they’re not the only option.
Any class that relies on Dexterity will have an easier time sneaking around, as Stealth relies on Dexterity. Ideally, you should also get skill proficiency in Stealth, so your proficiency bonus will also be applied when rolling these checks. Rogues shine here because you can also get expertise in Stealth, meaning your proficiency bonus will be doubled.
Rangers,especially Gloom Stalkers, are another excellent option for sneaking around, thanks to disguise, teleport, and invisibility.Bardsare interesting, too, since they can get expertise in Stealth, too, should you choose. Even spellcasters can have their fun sneaking around since most of them don’t wear armor. They’re not the best at it, but they’re not the worst, either.
The classes and builds that’ll have a hard time sneaking around are characters with low Dexterity and medium or heavy armor, as these give you disadvantages on Stealth rolls.
you’re able to circumvent those things with feats or spells, but they won’t do a good job by default.
3Choose A Race With A Stealth-Focused Bonus
The races you pick will also help you out when sneaking around, as some of their bonuses are directly aimed toward the Stealth skill or their bonus can be used for these occasions.
Our first good example is theWood Elf,with their extra movement and free Stealth skill proficiency, allowing you to get other proficiencies with your class and still be good at stealth. Still, there is a better bonus than free skill proficiency.
Lightfoot HalflingsandDeep Gnomesget an advantage to all their Stealth Ability Checks, among other things. That, combined with proficiency from your class, will make it extremely hard for you to fail these checks. Deep Gnomes are a better choice here due to their Superior Darkvision, being effective from afar (we’ll get to that).
Tieflings and Drows are decent options for being able to cast Darkness, but spellcasting can make enemies aware of you if they are already hostile. That said, our final main recommendation is theDuergar.They can cast Invisibility at will — or once per battle if you’re using it in combat. Given their other bonuses favoring frontline characters, they are a fantastic option for an armored Fighter-like character who can still sneak around through their invisibility.
2Favor Ranged Attacks
Even though your chances will be quite high with the tips above, walking around someone’s line of sight can still fail — especially if there are no shadows for you to hide in. So, instead of trying to get to your target, you can always shoot at them.
Long-range weapons are perfect options for sneaky characters. Their attacks will also rely on your Dexterity, allowing you to position yourself better on the battlefield without risking being too close to multiple opponents with a squishier character, for instance.
Spellcasters can also take advantage of being hidden and throw a spell attack like a Fire Bolt with advantage and taking enemies by surprise without having to get up close to them. Even Strength-based characters can still benefit from range by throwing something like a javelin toward the opponent. Still, ranged characters will have a better time since they’ll have weapons or features that function well in these cases.
1Use Spells And Equipment That Can Help Your Stealth
When talking about the Duergar, we mentioned how much of a game-changer invisibility spells can be when sneaking around, for obvious reasons. This spell, along with its better counterpart,Greater Invisibility, is a fantastic choice to go unnoticed, but they’re not the only option.
A melee stealthy character can also benefit from teleportation, avoiding the line of sight and thus any Stealth Ability Check. Jumping also doesn’t trigger enemies, as long as you don’t pass in front of them, meaning a Githyanki could be surprisingly stealthy with their enhanced jump andMisty Step.
Still, you can get some of these abilities from your class or equipment,such as ringsor necklaces. Some weapons also help with the damage, such as lowering the number for a critical hit, which, combined with an advantage attack, increases your chance of landing a critical strike, for example.
