What is proficiency in Baldur’s Gate 3? No matter your race or class in the RPG game, you have your own unique set of weapons, spells, and ability scores, but having proficiency in certain areas grants you even greater success when using them. We have plenty of experience in both Dungeons and Dragons and Baldur’s Gate 3, so if you’re unsure about proficiency, we can help clear things up.
Once you’ve chosen your Baldur’s Gate 3 class and race, the next step on your journey is to craft the best build for your character. There are many things to consider during character creation in Baldur’s Gate 3, including which Baldur’s Gate 3 skills you wish to be most adept at as you progress. That’s where your BG3 proficiency bonus comes in.
What is Baldur’s Gate 3 proficiency?
Proficiency is a set score that can be added to any other stat in Baldur’s Gate 3, as long as you’re proficient in that area. For example, if your proficiency bonus is +2, and you are proficient in Animal Handling, you can add +2 to any Animal Handling roll.
Proficiency can be added to almost any roll in Baldur’s Gate 3, including weapon attack rolls, spell casting, saving throws, and more.
How do you work out your proficiency bonus?
Your BG3 proficiency bonus is always linked to your character level, and increases by one every fourth level increase, as follows:
- Level 1 – 4: +2 proficiency bonus
- Level 5 – 8: +3 proficiency bonus
- Level 9 – 12: +4 proficiency bonus
- Level 13 – 16: +5 proficiency bonus
- Level 17 – 20: +6 proficiency bonus
That’s the easy bit. Which tools, skills, instruments, and checks your proficiency bonus applies to depends on which class and race you’ve chosen, among other character traits such as behavior. All of this is decided during character creation (though some proficiencies can be gained later – for example, if you choose a subclass). Thankfully, unlike the manual character creation of Dungeons and Dragons, Baldur’s Gate will prompt you to select any proficiencies and apply them to your stats automatically, but it still helps to know where they might come from when creating your character.
Some proficiencies come with your class, some with your race, and some with your background. For example, if your character has a criminal background, you gain proficiency in both Stealth and Deception. Therefore, if you want either of those skills to be particularly high, or if your base character is struggling in those areas, choosing the Criminal background could be a good idea. Luckily for you, we have a full list of all Baldur’s Gate 3 backgrounds and their proficiencies to help you plan your character build.
Further proficiencies can be gained temporarily with certain Baldur’s Gate 3 status effects. For example, the Idol of Silvanus (we won’t say any more than that) gives your party the Silvanus’ Blessing status effect, which provides proficiency in Nature and Animal Handling skills for the duration.
Now you know how BG3 proficiency works, how to calculate it, and how to use it. We’ve also got some helpful pointers in Baldur’s Gate 3 feats and traits to round out your stalwart adventurer. Check out our Baldur’s Gate 3 review to see how we shaped our own character, as well as a selection of some of the best Baldur’s Gate 3 companions you can meet on your own journey.