Are you very curious about “Baldur’s Gate 3”? Do you want to know more about Baldur’s Gate 3 requirements, performance, and companions? Then you’ve come to the right place!
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a team-based role-playing game that immerses you in a world of strategic decisions and intricate character development, setting you on a grand adventure in the Dungeons & Dragons universe.
Whether you’re an experienced gamer or new to the RPG genre, this guide will help you understand the game and help you optimize your gaming experience. Let’s start!
What is Baldur’s Gate 3?
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a richly detailed, party-based role-playing game (RPG) set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons. The game offers an immersive experience where players’ choices significantly impact the unfolding narrative.
The story revolves around themes of fellowship and betrayal, survival and sacrifice, and the tantalizing allure of absolute power. Players can navigate through complex moral dilemmas and make strategic decisions that influence the course of the game.
Developed by Larian Studios, Baldur’s Gate 3 allows players to create their unique character or choose from a range of pre-made characters, each with their own backstory and quests. The game is renowned for its deep storytelling, intricate character development, and the freedom it offers players in shaping their adventure.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Requirements
To ensure a smooth and enjoyable gaming experience, checking if your PC meets the system requirements for Baldur’s Gate 3 is important.
Minimum Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel I5 4690/ AMD FX 8350
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 970/ RX 480 (4 GB+ VRAM)
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 150 GB available space
The minimum requirements are relatively modest by 2023 standards, with an Intel I5 4690 or AMD FX 8350 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a graphics card with at least 4 GB of VRAM.
Recommended Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel i7 8700K/ AMD R5 3600
Memory: 16 GB
Graphics: Nvidia 2600 Super/ RX 5600 XT (8 GB+ VRAM)
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 150 GB available space
The recommended requirements are more demanding. To run the game optimally, your PC should have an Intel i7 8700K or AMD R5 3600 processor, 16 GB of RAM, and a graphics card with at least 8 GB of VRAM.
By ensuring your PC meets these requirements, you can fully immerse yourself in the rich and detailed world of Baldur’s Gate 3.
Baldur’s Gate 3 System PC Performance
Now, I’m doing a performance analysis of Baldur’s Gate 3 on PC.
Our analysis used an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, 32GB DDR5 at 6000Mhz, and a variety of AMD Radeon and NVIDIA graphics cards. We’re running the game on Windows 10 64-bit, using GeForce 536.99 and Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 23.7.2 drivers.
The game offers rich graphics settings, allowing players to adjust the quality of models, distances, details, textures, and more. It also includes options for dynamic clouds, ambient occlusion, subsurface scattering, halos, and God rays. The game supports NVIDIA DLSS 2 and AMD FSR 1.0 but not FSR 2.0, although the developers plan to add this feature in a future update.
Our CPU benchmarks show that Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t require a high-end CPU. Even in a Goblin camp scene with lots of NPCs, the game ran smoothly at over 230fps at 1080p/max settings on our AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D.
We used the wrecked ship area for the GPU benchmark, which proved to be quite demanding. At 1080p/Max settings, most of our GPUs deliver a smooth gaming experience. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 consistently topped 60 fps, while the NVIDIA RTX 4090 topped 240 fps.
At 1440p/Max settings, our top five GPUs ran games without issues. For native 4K/Max settings, AMD Radeon RX 6900XT, RX 7900XTX, and NVIDIA RTX 4090 provide a smooth experience.
Graphics-wise, Baldur’s Gate 3’s visuals are pleasing but not particularly impressive. It features detailed character models and high-resolution textures but has some pop-in issues and pixelated shadows. The lighting isn’t as advanced as in games like Diablo 4.
Overall, Baldur’s Gate 3 performs well on a variety of PC configurations. We didn’t experience any crashes, but there was some stuttering in DX11 after long gaming sessions. The game is well optimized for keyboard and mouse, with appropriate on-screen prompts and different UI menus and controls for gamepad users. It’s a beautiful PC game, but given its low GPU requirements, it could benefit from ray-tracing effects.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Main Companions
1. Shadowheart
Shadowheart, a High Half-elven Cleric, dedicates herself to Shar, the neutral-evil goddess of darkness and night. This allows her to use illusion and manipulation magic, in addition to a standard Cleric arsenal.
2. Astarion
Astarion, a High-elven rogue, is also a vampire. His class and affliction provide him with a range of stealth attacks and some magic options.
3. Gale
Shadowheart, a High Half-elven Cleric, dedicates herself to Shar, the neutral-evil goddess of darkness and night. This allows her to use illusion and manipulation magic, in addition to a standard Cleric arsenal.
4. Wyll
Despite his habit of consorting with demons, Wyll, a Human Warlock, is an honorable warrior. He’s a capable swordsman with some eldritch magic to support him.
5. Lae’zel
Lae’zel, a Githyanki fighter, is as powerful in combat as she is sharp-tongued. Her skillset, which primarily involves dealing significant damage with her stabs, makes her an ideal character for newcomers.
6. Karlach
Described as a vengeance-seeking Tiefling Barbarian, Karlach adds significant DPS to your party. Her skills include Athletics, Perception, Survival, and Intimidation.
7. Halsin
Halsin, a Druid, is the leader of the Druid Grove in the first act. If you play your cards right, he will join you and accompany you to Moonrise Tower in Act 2.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Best Settings Guide
Baldur’s Gate 3, like many games, benefits from manual settings adjustments rather than presets. Here’s a guide to optimize your settings for better performance, using the RTX 3070 at 1440p as a reference.
Model Quality: Lowering this from High to Low improves performance by 4%, without significantly impacting visuals.
Detail Distance & Instance Distance: Keep these on High, as lowering them only gives a minor 1fps increase.
Texture Quality: There’s no significant speed gain from lowering this, and it greatly impacts visual fidelity.
Texture Filtering: Set this to Trilinear mode for a slight speed boost without a noticeable loss in quality.
Animation Level of Detail: Keep this on High, as lowering it only provides a 1fps increase.
Slow HDD Mode: This won’t affect performance if the game is installed on an SSD.
Dynamic Crowds: Turning this off doesn’t impact performance and can reduce detail.
Shadow Quality: Set this to Low for a modest speed boost without significantly impacting shadow quality.
Cloud Quality: Keep this on High, as lowering it doesn’t affect performance.
Fog Quality: Lower this for a slight framerate increase.
Nvidia DLSS: This is highly effective in Baldur’s Gate 3, particularly at 1440p or higher, and can significantly improve framerate.
AMD FSR 1.0: This can improve framerate but may reduce visual crispness.
FidelityFX Sharpening: This doesn’t impact performance, but for the best visuals, keep the sharpness slider no higher than 25%.
Anti-aliasing: Stick to the default TAA unless using DLSS, which overrides this setting.
Ambient Occlusion: Turn this off for a performance boost without a significant visual loss.
Depth of Field & Depth of Field Quality: Adjusting these won’t affect performance.
God Rays: Leave these on, as turning them off can actually reduce performance.
Bloom: This can be disabled or re-enabled with no impact on framerate.
Subsurface Scattering: Leave this enabled for better-looking soft textures, as turning it off only provides a minor performance boost.
Final Thought
With this comprehensive guide, you should already know the Baldur’s Gate 3 requirements, performance, and companions.
Remember, the right settings can greatly enhance your gaming experience, but it’s the choices you make, the alliances you build, and your strategy that count. The battles you endure truly define your journey.
So gather your troops, get ready for the adventure, and may your rolls always be a natural 20-something!
