Can you skip fights in Baldur’s Gate 3? For those looking to play nice with the denizens of Faerûn, you will be pleased to know that there are some ways that you can avoid conflict. However, you may find that different approaches will work in certain situations and, in some cases, require clever use of your abilities to keep your party from harm.
Skipping fights is one of many reasons why, as per our Baldur’s Gate 3 review, we’re eager to dive back in at every opportunity. The fact there are multiple different paths to every objective you can take in Baldur’s Gate 3 means you evade some fights completely. However, there are times when combat seems almost inevitable, and that’s where good use of any Baldur’s Gate 3 class powers that you or your companions have to hand can make all the difference.
How to skip fights in Baldur’s Gate 3
In short, your ability to skip fights in Baldur’s Gate 3 depends on the encounter in the first place. Sometimes you can use diplomacy to evade the need to fight, while other encounters can be avoided by sneaking through unseen.
Unfortunately, there is no ‘skip fight’ button or shortcut for the moments when you do wander into combat, so you’re better off using one of the methods below if a pacifist run is what you seek.
Stealth
If you decide to go down the stealthy route, the main thing you need to ensure you do first is hold the Shift key and press C. This will enable hide mode for any currently selected characters. Hidden characters will then move slowly, trying not to be seen by enemies by walking into the red areas. Unless you have a particularly high stealth skill, you’ll likely be spotted if you wander into the red, so try to avoid doing so where possible.
If you find later on that combat is unavoidable, you can use your hidden characters to engage from a more advantageous position and get the jump on the enemy.
Skip fights with diplomacy
If bandits ambush you, stumble into an enemy camp, or would otherwise trigger dialogue before a potential battle, you may get the chance to roll to evade combat altogether. If animals or monsters attack you, and you don’t understand their language, your chances of skipping the fight are minimal to none, and some fights are unavoidable.
If you get to talk to an enemy before combat ensues, you will see potential dialogue options to intimidate, persuade, or some more specific proficiency abilities and perhaps even your class to convince your would-be opponent to avoid conflict. You may even require certain BG3 skills, such as the ability to talk to animals or learn obscure ancient languages to reason with your aggressor.
For each of these abilities that you have that would be useful in your situation, you will see it in the same line as that dialogue option. For example, if you are a Paladin trying to intimidate a would-be thief from robbing you, you may see an option that begins with [Paladin, Intimidation], which adds class and proficiency bonuses to the dice roll. Characters with good charisma will likely have higher proficiencies that are relevant to dodging conflict.
If you pass the roll, there’s a good chance you’ll evade conflict, with Critical Success rolls increasing those chances further. However, should you fail the dice roll, combat is mostly inevitable. Should you skip a fight, your characters will be rewarded with experience, regardless of whether or not they were a factor in how things went down.
Those are just some ways to skip fights in Baldur’s Gate 3. You may also find that certain Baldur’s Gate 3 races have the upper hand in some conflicts, while careful navigation of the Baldur’s Gate 3 quests list may help you plan ahead to dodge brawling entirely.