Should You Choose an Origin or Custom Character in Baldur’s Gate 3? Answered

Creating your character might easily be the most important bit of the entire game, especially in a DnD-inspired video game like Baldur’s Gate 3. You want to make sure everything is just right, while also ensuring you have an immersive narrative experience. But this raises the question: Should you choose to play as an Origin or Custom character in Baldur’s Gate 3? Here’s everything you need to know.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Origin Characters Explained

If you’ve played Divinity: Original Sin 2, Larian Studios’ last big release, you’ll know that Origin characters were vastly superior to Customs, and you might be wondering if that’s also the case in Baldur’s Gate 3.

First off, Origin characters are essentially pre-made characters with their own set backstories and classes, and you can pick any of them and immediately get going. They come with their own personal quests and stories to pursue, and may also offer unique views and perspectives on what goes on in the narrative.

Here’s a list of all Origin characters available in Baldur’s Gate 3:

• Astarion
• Shadowheart
• Gale
• Wyll
• Lae’zel
• Karlach
• The Dark Urge

They all come with different skillsets and primary abilities, so if you’re feeling a bit too daunted by the amount of choice you have available to you when creating a Custom, you can’t really go wrong with an Origin.

Custom Characters

On the other hand, Custom characters are exactly what you’d expect. You get to create a whole new character from scratch, down to their race, background, and class. You can shape them into whatever you want, and they’re essentially a blank slate.

This is recommended for more experienced players who know how to build a character effectively, or for players who just want to enjoy the story through a lens of a more neutral party. It’s worth noting that you can respec your character build, so there’s no need to worry about potentially messing up even if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Should You Pick Origin or Custom in Baldur’s Gate 3?

No matter which you pick, the first important thing to note is that your character will be silent no matter what in the story. Larian Studios has also confirmed that this time around, the NPCs of Baldur’s Gate 3 will be much more reactive and responsive to how you build your Custom characters, so there’s no need to worry about Origins feeling more fleshed out than Customs.

To that end, it really doesn’t matter what you pick. If any of the Origins appeal to you, pick them. If you want more freedom in customizing your player character, create a Custom.

That said, if you want something of a middle ground, consider picking the Dark Urge Origin instead. This is a fully customizable Origin character with a special personal quest exclusive to it. The Dark Urge will not show up in the game as a playable character if you don’t select it, so if you want access to that exclusive personal quest, you need to pick it.

The Dark Urge definitely seems like the best option for those looking for the best of both worlds: you get to customize your character, while also getting a special quest to make it feel more involved in the world.

That’s all you need to know about whether you should pick an Origin or Custom character in Baldur’s Gate 3. Be sure to search for Twinfinite for more tips and information on the game.