How to Improve Success Rate With Ability & Skill Checks in Baldur’s Gate 3

Many Actions in Baldur’s Gate 3 involve making Ability or Stat Checks, leaving the potential outcome up to the dice. Because of this, it can often be tricky to achieve your intentions or have things run perfectly to plan upon a failed check. Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to improve your odds and maximize the potential of passing your checks in BG3, so follow along below for a complete rundown of everything you’ll need to know.

How to Increase Success Rate for Checks in Baldur’s Gate 3

In Baldur’s Gate 3, there are three different ways that you can increase your odds with the dice, involving triggering Advantage, gaining bonus die, or utilizing the Skill Modifiers of each member in your party. Here’s a more in-depth explanation of how to use these methods for yourself:

Utilize the Skill Modifiers of Your Party Members

Each member of your party will have their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to their stats and Abilities. By familiarising yourself with these, you can use them to your advantage in many situations that may require Ability Checks.

For example, if your character is weak in the Charisma Stat, but you’d like to use Persuasion to convince an NPC to agree with you, or Intimidate them into leaving, then you can opt to change control to one of your party members before initiating the conversation, rather than relying on luck of the dice with your character. In this scenario, Wyll would be a great choice, as he has a high Charisma stat by default.

Of course, this method can’t be used in every circumstance, as some conversations you are locked into after initiating them. Because of this, it’s always important to plan ahead – when you presume a situation may involve Stat Checks that you’re unfavorable to, there’s always the option to switch to another character before investigating or prompting some chatter with one of the many allies, enemies, and NPCs.

Gain Advantage

There are many Cantrips, Abilities, and Spells in BG3 that grant Advantage on certain Ability Checks when cast. If you’re looking to influence others and Charm your way through a conversation, then the Spell ‘Friends‘ can come in handy, providing you Advantage on all Charisma checks made against a non-hostile creature.

Alternatively, ‘Thaumaturgy‘ makes for a brilliant Spell when you’re looking to make an impression with Intimidating and Performance, granting Advantage for both Skills. These are just two examples from plenty of Magical options when it comes to gaining Advantage for Skill and Stat Checks, so if you’re not playing a Magic user role yourself, then make sure to familiarise yourself with your comrades builds, as you can often have them cast these Spells not only on themselves but also on yourself when needed.

There is also an abundance of different Magical Items in the game, and some of these may grant Advantage on certain Stats, Ability Checks, or Saving Throws. Because of this, it’s always important to check out any Magical Loot you come across, as some items may allow you or your comrades to enhance their best stats even further and improve dice rolls within these areas.

Lastly, certain Class Features and Abilities can grant you Advantage, or double the Modifiers for certain Stats and Skills. Expertise is a Feat that doubles the Proficiency Bonus for any Ability Check using your chosen Proficiencies, allowing the Rogue, Bard, and Illithid Classes to hone specific skills.

Cast Guidance

Guidance is one of the most valuable Cantrips in the game, adding a bonus +1d4 to any Ability Check for up to ten turns, as long as Concentration is maintained. Guidance is available to those within the Cleric and Druid classes, so if your own character doesn’t fall into either of these Classes, it can be picked up by Shadowheart or Halsin. Because of the sheer value Guidance can bring to the party, I’d highly reccomend keeping someone with access to the Spell around at all times.

That’s everything you need to know about improving your success rate with Ability and Stat Checks in Baldur’s Gate 3. Now that you’re aware of the best ways to increase odds with your dice rolls, feel free to check out our complete guide covering the Investigate the Ruins Quest – this is one of the first side quests in the game, and improving your Ability Check rolls will certainly come in handy throughout!