Baldur’s Gate 3 is a combat-heavy game, so you’ll need to know the ins and outs of healing, as the enemies take no quarter and will pile the damage on your party members if you’re not careful. Luckily, you have lots of healing options, but there are limitations to when and how often they can be used, so you’ll need to ration them out carefully.
In Baldur’s Gate 3, all characters have hit points, and when they’re dropped to zero hit points, they’re knocked to the ground and will start making death saves. You can use the Help command to put them on one hit point, or can use a healing item/spell to break them out of it. If the character fails three death saving throw rolls, they die, and they make one each turn they’re knocked down. It’s advised that you keep your party members healthy at all times, to avoid the threat of death saves.
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Healing With Food & Potions In Baldur’s Gate 3
It’s possible for all characters to heal themselves through the use of items. Over the course of Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll find lots of food and healing potions, which you should spread evenly across all party members, to ensure that they have access to healing at all times. Healing Potions only require a Bonus Action to use, so you can also attack or cast a spell in the same turn. For this reason, you should always make sure the Cleric has the strongest healing potions, this way, they can heal themselves and another party member when the group takes a lot of damage from an AoE effect.
Healing Through A Short Rest Or Long Rest In Baldur’s Gate 3
It’s possible to rest outside of combat in Baldur’s Gate 3 and there are two options available to the player: Short Rest and Long Rest. You can take two Short Rests per Long Rest, which will heal half the hit points of each party member. It’s a good idea to use Short Rests when you’re in the middle of a dungeon or don’t want to burn through items or slots.
To take a Long Rest, you need to set up camp first. Once you’re in camp, you can interact with other party members, talk to Withers the Necromancer, or access your supplies. When inside the camp, you can take a long rest, which will restore all of your hit points and spell slots, making it the more effective healing method in the game. Taking a Long Rest will require camp supplies, so there are limits to how many times you can do it, so try not to spam Long Rests when you don’t need to.
Healing With Spells In Baldur’s Gate 3
You won’t always be able to take a Long Rest in Baldur’s Gate 3, as you can’t exactly whip out a tent while enemies are whacking you with clubs. As such, the most effective way to heal in combat is through the use of spells. The Bard, Cleric, and Druid are the most effective healing magic-users in Baldur’s Gate 3 and you should aim to have one of them in your party at all times. Luckily, you’ll get Shadowheart as one of your early party members, giving you a Cleric straight away.
In terms of spells, the ones you’ll be using the most are Cure Wounds and Healing Wounds. Cure Wounds heals more than Healing Word, but it costs an Action and has to be used at short range, while Healing Word heals less than Cure Wounds, but it can used from a distance and only takes a Bonus Action, so you can cast another spell in the same turn.
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When you get to higher levels, you’ll get Prayer of Healing and Mass Healing Word. Prayer of Healing heals a lot for multiple party members, while Mass Healing Word has the Bonus Action benefit of Healing Word while affecting multiple characters. If possible you should have all of these healing spells prepared.
