How to Level Up – Baldur’s Gate 3

In Baldur’s Gate 3, leveling up is an involved process that can be a little tricky. Not every level on your way to the max level of 12 will offer the same benefits. Not only that, but the Baldur’s Gate 3 level-up screen can be somewhat confusing. We’re going to go over the basics in this guide, showing you how to initiate the level up, and what options will be available to you and where you can find them.

While you play Baldur’s Gate, most actions will net you some quantity of XP (experience points). Some new players to the genre might think that only fighting can give you XP, but it can actually also be gained through dialogue and using skills. After you have earned enough, a character will level up. This will be obvious, but if you want to see if a character is ready to be leveled up, simply look at their icon on the left side of the screen. If they can level up, there will be an arrow flashing.

baldurs gate 3 leveling up character icons and level up button v3

When you select that character, they will have text by their icon at the bottom of the screen that says ‘Level Up’. In order to actually level up, you can click on the ‘Level Up’ at the bottom of the screen, or you can click on the flashing arrow by their icon (1). Additionally, in case you want to look at your equipment before leveling, you can even level up from the inventory menu (2). Selecting ‘level up’ in any of these ways will bring you to a separate level-up screen.

However, you might be wondering, “how to get into the level-up screen after leaving it?” Unfortunately, you cannot go back to the screen and change any of your decisions after leveling up. You can always go to your inventory screen and see what features, spells, and stats your character recently gained, but if you want to redo a level up, you will have to respec your character. Otherwise, you’ll only see the screen again on your next level up.

It isn’t super apparent, but there are sometimes options in this screen. If you see some circles on the left side, then you will have some decisions to make for your character. These range widely depending on the class of the character: sometimes you will have to choose a specialization for your current class, and other times you will have to choose between different spells or abilities to unlock. Just be sure to click on each circle, so you don’t miss out on customizing the character how you want!

baldurs gate 3 leveling up options v3
Click on each of the circles to make important decisions while leveling up

If you’re leveling up and there aren’t any new options to choose from, don’t worry; sometimes a level-up only results in some bumps to your stats. Also, later on in the game, you might notice that not all your characters are leveling at the same rate. This is caused from specific situations where one or two companions receive XP while the others do not.

Another extremely important feature while leveling up is the multi-classing tool. After leveling to a particular level, you will see the option to multi-class in the top right corner of the level up information. This opens up a massive amount of different build crafting possibilities, and should always be kept in mind.

baldurs gate 3 leveling up character multi classing v2
Leveling up just became more complex

In some games, it can be a strategy to wait to level up your character because it can provide some bonuses in tricky situations. This is not one of those games. Leveling a character provides pretty drastic benefits (especially early on) such as giving a character a larger chunk of health or new devastating abilities. Consequently, we recommend smashing that level up button as soon as you can.

A mistake you will probably make once is not leveling up a companion after switching them into your party. Always keep in mind that your companions waiting on the bench in camp are acquiring XP too. As soon as you put them in your party for whatever reason, make sure they’re ready and leveled!


Hopefully this provided you with some insight into the leveling up system in Baldur’s Gate 3. Did you have any interesting experiences while leveling up, or was there a certain level where your whole build came together? Tell us about it in a comment!

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Kelson H.
Kelson H.

Kelson is a spud head from out west. He is most happy when holding a milky tea with too much honey and playing a sprawling role playing game or reading a fantasy novel. His video game tastes vary but his main genres are looter shooters, RPGs, and real time strategy games.

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