Summary
- Baldur's Gate 3's strict adherence to DnD mechanics creates drastic differences from other RPGs, which can lead to frustrating moments.
- Save scumming in Baldur's Gate 3 can help make the game less frustrating by allowing players to backtrack on decisions and mitigate the effects of bad luck.
- Fully committing to a playthrough without save scumming, however, can create a unique and tense experience with consequences that shape the story permanently.
Like most other RPGs of its scale, Baldur's Gate 3 has a generous save system, allowing players to create saves and reload them at any time during gameplay - a feature that many players will want to be using often, as many choices can result in completely different outcomes. Similar to developer Larian Studios' previous work on the Divinity: Original Sin games, Baldur's Gate 3 is a massive game with a number of interlinking systems, and like past Baldur's Gate games, almost completely based around the mechanics of Dungeons & Dragons, with BG3 adopting the fifth edition of the TTRPG.
Compared to Divinity: Original Sin, or even other big RPGs like Fallout or The Elder Scrolls, Baldur's Gate 3's strict adherence to DnD mechanics creates a number of drastic differences. For example, unlike combat in the Divinity games, where all of a character's available actions, including movement, depend on the number of Action Points available to them, Baldur's Gate 3 instead adopts the action economy of DnD, giving characters one full action, a bonus action, a reaction, and a set amount of movement per turn. However, while this is in keeping with the Baldur's Gate series, it can lead to some frustrating moments.
Save Scumming Is A Useful Tool In Baldur's Gate 3
Repeatedly reloading saves in games like Baldur's Gate 3 can lead to some uninteresting gameplay - repeating a particular sequence of events until the optimal outcome is achieved, for example, can significantly undercut the consequences of a player's decisions. At the same time, however, Baldur's Gate 3 is a game where certain choices in dialogue or battle can have drastically unintended outcomes, or change the story in a way that the player might not like. With other factors like dependence on RNG dice rolls factoring in, save scumming in Baldur's Gate 3 can help to make the game less frustrating in some moments.
Why Players Shouldn't Be Afraid To Save Scum In BG3
Given the immense size of Baldur's Gate 3's map, the length of its story, and the staggering amount of content in the game, players are inevitably going to miss out on some of what the game has to offer - especially those who don't plan on playing through the game more than once. With the game being such a heavy time investment, certain decisions can have major repercussions for the entire rest of a playthrough, and players who would rather things turn out differently will want to save often, so they can backtrack on decisions, or see more of the game within a single playthrough.
Compounding the issue is the game's heavy reliance on randomness - as players progress through the story, they will almost undoubtedly run into bad rolls on checks or saving throws, which could mean anything from missing out on treasure, to suffering heavier losses in combat, to drastically changing the outcomes of important story events. In most cases, these failed checks or saving throws can't be retried without going back to an earlier save, meaning that players may miss out on some content, or have the story move in a direction that they don't want.
Additionally, unlike in tabletop Dungeon & Dragons, where a DM can mitigate the effects of unlucky streaks or particularly bad rolls, BG3's status as a video game means that there are fewer options to mitigate the effects of bad luck. Aside from the Karmic Dice option, which has a number of side effects that players may not enjoy, loading a save is the only method available in Baldur's Gate 3 for making sure that the game doesn't advance in way that might be unenjoyable for some players - especially since some decisions or check can lead to consequences as major as character deaths.
The Benefits Of Not Save Scumming In BG3
On the other hand, however, fully committing to a playthrough with limited or no save scumming at all can make for a unique experience. Baldur's Gate 3 is designed with a high amount of reactivity to player choice, the consequences of certain decisions or checks can create interesting scenarios that a player might not see if they simply reloaded a save. Several early-game confrontations in the camp, for example, can lead to the deaths of major companions, either at the hands of the player or other companion characters, creating interesting consequences for the events surrounding them later in the game.
Additionally, especially in the case of something like a Dark Urge playthrough, refraining from save scumming lends more weight to rolls and dialogue choices. Instead of simply reloading a save after a bad outcome, the consequences of that outcome become a part of story moving forward, making the choice to go for checks or certain dialogue options something to be much more carefully considered. Without the safety net of save scumming, combat can also become much more tense - particularly on a Tactician playthrough, where slip-ups, bad decisions, or failed rolls can easily snowball into heavy losses.
While playing an "iron man" run certainly won't be for most players - especially since the game has no official options for it - fully committing to the outcomes of decisions and rolls makes for a playthrough that is uniquely personal, where every decision in dialogue and combat has to be carefully thought through. Players who do end up refraining from save scumming will likely miss out some valuable treasure, some more favorable story outcomes, and maybe even entire companions or quests, but will also likely end up seeing parts of the game that other players won't.
Save scumming is a useful tool in Baldur's Gate 3, and players shouldn't be afraid to use it for bad luck mitigation, turning back unintended outcomes, or even just to see what would happen if they made different choices. At the same time, however, playing without the use of save scumming can make for a playthrough that is uniquely tense and rewarding, where making the right decisions matters even more than usual. Just as in traditional Dungeons & Dragons, finding the fun in Baldur's Gate 3 will involve letting players tailor their own experiences to suit their needs, whether that involves save scumming or not.
