Sorry for the VERY long one - but, if you arent in act 3 already, this MIGHT just save your experience / life.


I will TRY to make this as spoiler free as possible. I just come from the end of act 2, and heres some things that nobody else really seems to have mentioned, but many have issues with, here is a run down of things you WILL want and wont want to have missed. ( i found out the hard way )

Withers is your friend, can respec YOUR class and ANY of your companions classes, AND stats, for just 100 gold. And the price doesnt increase. Use this lots, as you learn. Disguise self can last the whole day, if you want your character to look different you can use it, itll let you choose sort of. It changes it in scenes too. And can also be useful in other ways. But if you want to choose a character for the stats or bonuses during the start - this is the best option to look a way you want to, while keeping those benefits.

ALL of your characters will go through their stories even if you dont keep them in your party, you can still mostly do things for them - and they can ALL become anything, from gale being a fighter, to karlach being a wizard.

You should use your consumables, this game hands them out like candy, dont hoard too much. You can get more, i promise. And itll help you have more fun.

if you're a bard, equipping your instrument allows you to perform, where there are people, for a variety of nice effects.

STRENGTH determines jump length, and push / throw strength and length.
You can pick up and throw people or literally use them as weapons

Dont leave stats uneven or as they are, stat bonuses is every even number, 10 +0, 12 +1, 14 +2, 16 +3, 18+4, so forth, so align them that way. I strongly suggest, 16 in main stat, and then get 14 dex, 14 con, this will help you with both AC and HP and initiative.

DONT worry so much about spells, and dont be afraid of using potions, this game hands you potions left and right, and you can buy lots of them, and steal your money back if you desire

You can place potions, healing, haste, invis, in between 3 characters standing RIGHT next to it, you cant squeeze 4 in there sadly, but 3 - and if you hit it, or throw it on the ground to break it, itll AOE, yes, your potion can aoe heal your party, or all haste, or invis, or whatever effect.

YOU CAN USE 1 elixir only, per day. They can be useful. use them - especially before big fights. And pick up herbs, alchemy is useful to make said elixirs, unless you just wanna buy them

theres a certain very hurt person, who's being with his doctor.. But once you gotten done with what you were doing, you can cast knock (spell) on the chair, to release him. But he's not doing too good.

Yes you can complete both the underdork and the mountain pass. I suggest doing dork first and then pass. But dont progress into moonrise, from underdork, go back and then do pass. Itll work out the best possible BUT DO NOT go there before you have gotten all your.. friends, and friends mentioned in this help-thing and done everything else. Trust me, youll regret it.

EACH character can use a scroll or spell that lets you have a companion, like animate dead, or conjure elemental, when you go into a big battle if each of your companions have an extra companion, you have so many more actions and things to do.

HAVE A COMPANION THAT YOU DONT BRING WITH YOU OUT, THAT STAYS AT HOME AND BECOMES A BUFF CHARACTER, things like longstrider stays the WHOLE day, and other spells too like darkvision, you can use a character at camp dedicated to waste their spellslots to buff your party, leaving MORE room in your own repetoire. Make your very own BBG (best buffing gale) and enjoy.

YOU CAN, just run around naked, while still wearing armor, should you wish to do, you dont have to play unarmored defense mix, like dragon sorc, monk or barb, because you can take off their "clothes" and undies, and then if you hover over where the clothes option is, you can click a small button to "hide" armor and look as they would "in camp" which is naked in this case, or JUST in clothes of your choosing. Can also hide hat and cape this way.

You are not actually under time pressure, you can long rest easily. Unless you are in a situation where time -is- actively of the essence, like "oh look a house is burning with someone inside" or like something actively happening. Other than that, rest, and also - often times resting activates certain side-stories for companions. I practically didnt rest until end of act 2, making everything pretty difficult, but i managed, however, this then stacked up quite a bit of "moments". I basically only slept due to 2 forced to, and then 2 of my own volition. Dont be like me, youll have more fun

DO NOT attack the goblin encampment, (if you have found a certain creature with a cub) if the cub does not have the creature present, you will find it in the goblin camp, and if you just attack, you miss this chance;
Let the cub, when met in goblin encampment, sniff your scent. It will arrive to your camp when you sleep, and become your friend DO NOT kill the cub. And if its hostile - reload. You can not knock it unconscious, the game considers that "dead".

When you meet a dog next to a corpse, do not try to touch the corpse, just leave it be, and let the dog sniff you. It becomes a friend. Dont fight it, or reload.

Save arabella. Save 'us'. Interact with mol and be their friend.

DO NOT sell infernal iron's, OR soul coins. In fact, just get by, by selling defeated enemies armor/weapon. And keep mostly everything else. Personally i keep and collect all the rings and necklaces, but you can sell those too. Infernal irons can be made into some cool stuff...

THERES 2 of a certain rare ore, and when you fight a certain big robot boi, he can be... hammered down, quite easily.

Theres a certain... trial, in which you have to fight yourselves.. MAKE SURE YOU ONLY ATTACK YOURSELF.. laezel attack laezel, shadowheart attack shadowheart, so forth - AND BEFORE YOU INTERACT with the bowl in the trial chamber, undress, all the way. Then after you interact with it, put it back on. Oh and.. you might wanna see invisible, or use aoe - BUT DO NOT attack anyone that ISNT yourself.

To get minthara, youll have to sacrifice 3 other companions and align yourself a certain way that has a lot of ripples in the second act, note this, some people have managed to bug it out and get around it, you can look this up at your own risk

You might eventually find a ... very mundane chest... Pick this up, and keep it, yes its heavy, and just a chest.. But maybe theres more to it. KEEP IT. You heard me. ♥♥♥♥ you. No. Stop arguing. Do what i said. Youll regret not listening otherwise. Trust me. Try exploring and seeing what its like

You might also, find a stool with a wierd name laying on its side. Maybe play around with it a bit.

When you meet a group of ogres, where one seems awfully smart for an ogre.. Try to befriend, and get their help later on. Because instead of defeating them now.... You can let them fight your enemies, but then let them lose to the enemies, and you still get their loot, AND making your OTHER enemies bloodied. This is the... ..intelligent way to play the situation.

DO NOT, if you align ... against the "absolute" assault the moonrise tower, youll understand. And DEFINITELY do not, engage with the nightsong, theres a point in which if you find the nightsong youll get an option to go into some water, do not do this until you have "charmed your way in" pretending to be aligned with them, so you can free some people in the their prison. IF YOU DO NOT do that, they will be dead by the time you actually do begin your assault.

I will say it again, NIGHTSONG SHOULD WAIT, until you done all the other stuff

A lot of encounters you can make easier by talking and having a lot of options removed. They might even kill their friends for you, or even themselves, if you talk well enough.. But sometimes, talking first, and THEN "betraying" them (they are evil so dont feel guilt) means you can get -both- kinds of rewards.

DO NOT PLAY A ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ PALADIN, the oaths are fickle and actually stupid. Sometimes you do a good action, but because it isnt good "right here right now" or whatever bs, despite being "greater good" itll break your oath, and each time itll cost you double what you paid to "restore it" unless you -want- to stay oathbreaker, which is fair enough, but its FAR too dumb in how the game determines your actions. I started off as paladin. Instead i suggest making your own paladin. Make a warcleric, or life cleric, and fighter mix, as in 6th level fighter, 6th level cleric, its practically the same thing, except without the fuss.

Fighter is THE multiclass tool. Level 6 means you get extra feat, instead of 8, this means you can get 6th level bonus from 2 classes, instead of going 8 and 4, and still get 3 feats. And heavy armor.

You can put explosives in a backpack, throw it, itll break and leave the explosives in the open for you to nuke your enemies if something is hard.

Try having detect thoughts and speak with animals and longstrider, active AT ALL times. So many corpses have useful info or thoughts they wouldnt want you to know

theres a hidden cellar somewhere up north that if you can sneak in, or talk your way in. Theres something really useful there

Theres a flask made of iron somewhere, if you get it, it has something inside, and it may or may not be a pokeball, kind of anyway.

Theres a golden woman somewhere, she really likes coins and will give you something useful, if you give her -ALL- of your gold, and you can probably kill her to get it back. Maybe before you engage her, you can leave most of your gold in camp anyway, and still get it as long as you give a bit.

Do lot let laizel interact with a certain machine when she meets her friends. Or you can, but if you dont pull her out, she dies.

DO NOT fight laizels boss. Talk instead, let him look at your stuff. And follow along, because once you enter where he asks you to go. You can get better options, and wont lose her. Trust me.

A certain hag, can be talked with to gain a permanent stat boost.. After you get her to low health, so dont outright kill her, leave her 5~ hp.

When in moonrise, pretending to be their friend, or being their friend, bring astarion to a certain alchemist, she really likes him, and if you talk astarion into it, she will give you a potion that gives you a permanent +2 strength

LOOT EVERY CORPSE, AND EVERY CRATE. At least check it for useful stuff, and read ALL notes. Sometimes theres secrets that WILL reward you.

A LOT of companions can use shields. Even if you dont think so, helping them be less squishy.

NOTHING is worth more than good ac. Aim for "like 20 or more" on all of your characters. NOTHING ELSE. Because even magical effects are only "so good" - you want to focus on the ACTION economy
more actions = better. No matter what.

theres a certain really helpful lantern you find along the story, you might wanna inspect it? Maybe theres more to it. ( theres a broken one, that one comes in handy later if you inspect around a certain tower)

Crates, backpacks and pouches, collect them like pokemon. Backpacks and pouches is for sorting and keeping your inv pretty, and crates are USEFUL, you can "climb on" or jump on them to 1. Get access to areas that is hard to get to, 2. Jump further, 3. get highground bonus on enemies, 4. If you drop items from high up, they add fall damage UNTOP of the damage, like throwing a golf ball from 10 stories up can be lethal.
So throw, push, and pull, as much as you can.

If you push people into oblivion they insta die. However... You also get no loot. If you dont care, push them in, free insta exp or one less enemy

Gale is a VERY HUNGY BOI, but dont you worry, only feeding him 3 times sates his appetite, mostly, so when he asks for food.. only give him THE MOST USELESS food you can give him, like.. the things that does the most useless things, that you wont care about not having.

using a bonus action OR before combat, applying a poison like drow poison, can be EXTREMELY effective, making enemies sleep, putting them out of comission.

creatures who are small can access areas that others cant sometimes, or even jump through iron gates.

You can pick up items that can be used to make straight up nukes or used in a pinch. Like smokepowder/firewine barrels, instead of just exploding them, if you can, pick them up, send to camp or in a .. special place that removes weight.. Itll be so useful for you later. And many items have OTHER uses that can be useful. Think creatively. Trust me, itll improve EVERYTHING



OTHER USEFUL TIPS & control options
shift shows views without sneak
shift c is sneak all people
you can ctrl click multiple items or shift one and click another to select all in between
you can send heavy items to camp and pick them up there
G unlinks all companions, you can also click and drag them out unlinking or combining them at will.
shift + space activates turn based mode - this is a godsend, when you want to pickpocket OR ambush people having all your characters do something in order.
IF YOU ARE MOVING and see perception check, or want ALL your characters to just INSTA stop in place, either activate turn based OR click right click, this will stop movement insta. Useful to avoid walking into traps
hold ALT to display mostly all items on the ground

You can get away with a lot of stuff, just by doing it while hidden, in turn based frozen time, then unlink the character, unfreeze, tp that character only to camp. Then theres nobody that actually did anything, and if you pickpocketed, they will ask your companions, did you do it? But they obviously didnt and so, you essentially get off scott free.

You want a character that can do all, speak to all, succeed almost all checks? Here you go
Make a bard, remember to click and change your skills, pick sleight of hand and persuation and other such goodies.
get to level 3 (jack of all trades, go lore school, choose sleight of hand, and perception or something else you desire)
pick either fighter or monk, or sorcerer, i suggest fighter for proficiencies. But personally i like shadowheart being cleric 4/6 and fighter 6/8. So i go monk and do 6bard/6monk (way of the open hand, topple is good and can push enemies back), using int head, dex bracers, bull or cat chest, i can carry everything, have 20+ ac, LOTS of actions in combat, all my stats are +3 or higher, sleight of hand and persuation 12, high perception too, can essentially do everything, always succeed in things. Feats i suggest lucky first to help with rolls, and dual wielding for the ac and bonus and your 2 magic shortswords have lots of options with very powerful magical effects. Like a certain glowing mace. Oh and have lots of movement and other bonus actions.

You want a dedicated sorcerer, level 11 and 1 level in wizard to learn ALL spells of your choice, sorc IS best, because you can get more spell slots and still learn all spells, and metamagic is powerful.

Great weapon master on a barbarian IS YOUR FRIEND. Would you like to do 3 hits for 20-30+ damage each, at advantage, with haste.. even more? You can end up doing 100-150 damage per round. Bear heart barb, great weapon master (if you use a glaive, and take pole arm master feat, you can get opportunity attacks as well, and perhaps a 3rd sentinel? or tough or something. Just become a machine walking from enemy to enemy and slice them open

Those alone should help you. Lots of other good options. Those are just the main ones to know. This has taken me a solid 150 hours to scrape together, learn, understand, enough to help you, adventurer. Good luck