Baldur’s Gate 3 has a lot of complicated and confusing mechanics for anyone not already familiar with D&D. This short guide will explain how proficiencies work and where you can get more.
A proficiency bonus is an additional number applied to every d20 roll the character makes related to that skill and is determined mostly by your starting race, class, and background. The bonus you receive from a proficiency starts at +2, and increases by an extra +1 every 5 character levels, up to the maximum of +6 at level 20.
Baldur's Gate 3 Proficiencies
Proficiencies apply to many aspects of gameplay but are primarily noticeable for ability checks during conversations. For example, if you have a persuasion proficiency, you will do better in persuasion based checks. They also affect roll checks during normal gameplay, with Perception making it easier to spot the hidden.
Attack and saving throws also have proficiencies available to them and make a massive difference in the outcome of combat actions as they determine if you hit or are hit.
All the proficiencies talked about so far stack with whatever attribute would normally be used for the roll, meaning that you can easily get very large bonuses in specific situations by choosing carefully. For example, at 16 intelligence, a wizard will get +3 to various rolls. Given a proficiency it will increase the roll by +5 and get increasingly higher as you level up, reaching +9 at level 20.
The final set of proficiencies are armour and weapons. In Baldur’s Gate you can equip whatever you like, however, not being proficient in that class of gear prevents you from casting spells or using weapon abilities.
You can unlock further proficiencies as a feat but these are far less than you’ll start with and only really useful to fill in a missing gap in your knowledge. That said, your first becomes available at level 4 and if you’re looking to equip different types of armour or weapons, we suggest you spend the point on unlocking them early.
If you’re interested in more Baldur’s Gate 3 articles, check out our Defiled Temple Puzzle Guide, or check out the most recent patch notes.
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