Baldur’s Gate 3 offers many different options for strong builds, making almost every detail of the game useful… at least almost. As the community has pointed out, there is one element that should really be avoided from the beginning to save a lot of frustration along the way.
Which element is being referred to? In Baldur’s Gate 3, in addition to physical damage such as bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage, there are also elements that influence the type of damage dealt. Pretty much every one of these elements can create really powerful effects through the right build or even completely standalone, with one exception: Poison.
Poison damage is triggered, for example, by spells such as Ray of Sickness, Spray Poison, or Cloudkill, as well as by poisoned weapons. All these terms suggest strong possibilities in combat, but here players will unfortunately be disappointed. Because no matter how much damage they might theoretically deal: Most enemies in Baldur’s Gate 3 won’t care.
Poison can be painful, but only if your enemies can actually feel it
Why is poison damage so bad in Baldur’s Gate 3? Perhaps you have been a victim of a nasty Cloudkill in Baldur’s Gate 3 yourself or still carry nasty memories from the fight with Aunt Ethel. But just because your Tav and their companions can’t stand poison doesn’t mean the same for your enemies.
Almost all enemies in Act 2 that stand in your way in the Shadow-Cursed Lands are undead and therefore resistant to poison. This means that the poison damage dealt is halved.
Also in Act 3 of the game, where one of the nastiest groups of enemies, such as the Steel Watch, consists of constructs and is even completely immune to poison, other elements are significantly stronger.
What does the community say about poison in Baldur’s Gate 3? The community on Reddit had to realize how poorly equipped players are if they want to rely on a poison build. But this is not just a problem in Baldur’s Gate 3. Also in D&D, poison is considered one of the inferior elements. This is partly due to the widespread immunity to poison of many monsters, the rather “evil” nature of its use, and – even if it sounds simple – the superiority of the other elements.
“That’s just D&D. Poison is only statistically better in Baldur’s Gate 3 in the way that a 1 is technically better than a 0,” writes Jindo5.
However, many players are not bothered by this. Most have already found their builds that they can combine with their favorite element. And what you can expect from this is no big surprise:
“I see your point and agree with you. But … Fireball, right,” writes the player with the appropriate name KABOOM3EP.
Many players of Baldur’s Gate 3 and Dungeons & Dragons have found their favorites when it comes to builds, spells, or other strategies. The mentioned level 3 spell Fireball is so popular in both the video game and tabletop that it has already become a meme. However, there are also strategies surrounding the Fireball so that you can use it even better: A spell in Baldur’s Gate 3 is so popular that many players prefer to shoot directly instead of waiting around
