Quick Links
Playing with friends in Baldur's Gate 3 brings the roleplaying tabletop game to your console, allowing you to partake in acts of tomfoolery from all corners of the globe. You'll be able to chuck barrels and chests at each other in person or across oceans. Chaos has never been so accessible.
With as many as three other friends at a time to share an adventure with, you'll have your full four-person-party experience at your fingertips. But how do you get them into your game, and what are their limitations? Hold on to your internet connections because we have your answers.
This guide is currently for the PC version of Baldur's Gate 3.
Multiplayer Overview
Multiplayer can take place in three main formats:
- Online (Public and Private)
- LAN
- Split Screen
Online features gameplay with anyone around the world while connected to the internet. Not all lobbies are password locked, giving the option for people to randomly join at any time from anywhere. Public games are for everyone, and private games can be shared between friends with passwords and through invitations.
LAN is specific only to households and shared internet connections. If you're hoping to play with someone in your same household or at the same internet cafe, this is for you.
Split Screen is not currently available for PC. This is a Playstation-only feature and will be covered with the Playstation's official release. Stay tuned.
Beyond the standard connection formats, you can choose to either:
- Start a campaign with a group
- Jump into a pre-existing group
If you choose to start a campaign with a group, you can each make your own custom character. You adventure with these characters, and up to four people can be involved in their creation.
If you jump into a pre-existing group, you must play with one of the companions in the party. You can choose one of official side companions (like Lae'zel, Astarion, etc.), or you can choose a currently unoccupied custom character. Only four can play at a time, but there is an unlimited number of friends who can join from start to finish.
How To Start And Join An Online Game With Friends (Steam And Password)
To start an online game with friends, the host must select the Multiplayer option on the main menu. From there, select "Create" on the bottom left of the menu.
On the right, you can choose the privacy of your game:
- "Anybody" leaves your game open to the public.
- "Friends" will allow anyone who is friended with you on Steam or a similar system to see your lobby and join.
- "Invitation Only" creates a system where you must give a password invite to friends or send a private invitation through a system like Steam.
If there is someone specific you would like to Invite via Steam, you can press the + button out of the four available slots. On PC, this will open your "Friends" tab on Steam with those who already have Baldur's Gate 3 opened listed as priority.
Click the friends you would like to invite. Invitations can be accepted through the Steam messaging system. If you have launched Baldur's Gate 3, you can accept the invite by:
- Opening the Steam Overlay
- Navigating to the "Friends" window
- Right-clicking on the person you are expecting the invitation from and pressing Messages
- Accepting the Invite in your Messages screen
To do this with a Password, you can press Invitation only and Direct Connections to create a password you can copy and paste to friends.
Once all expected members of the party have arrived, they must click they are ready. The host may then select "Venture Forth" to begin.
You do not need a full party of four people to play a game. The game can begin when all included members are ready, not when all slots are filled.
If you wish to kick a party member at any time, there is a literal boot for an icon under a player's name on the bottom left of the screen. Click that icon to have them removed from your session.
Multiplayer Features
While in multiplayer, each person can control a minimum of one character. If there are less than four people, some people can play more than one character.
If you do not know who controls which companion, you can see it easily by the color outlining the character's profile. Each person has their own color assigned to their profile.
When recruiting new companions, the person who spoke to the companion to recruit them will automatically be in control of them. However, if you wish to move who controls which character, the host can do so by:
- Opening the pause menu
- Navigating to "Session"
- Pressing the arrow keys of character faces between players
- Selecting "Apply" when satisfied
If wanted, a host can also change who controls original characters. It is also possible to assign all or no characters to a specific person, allowing someone to watch along without taking any actions.
When playing, your inventories are default shared (but can be changed in the Session settings). This means that one character can find a key and another can use that key to open a chest without needing to trade.
In a session that has started from scratch with multiple original characters, those characters can have individual story events and their own say in important decisions. Dialogue instances can go on without impeding the play of other players, meaning multiple can occur at the same time. If you would like to see someone else's conversation, you only need to click on the character speaking to listen in.
Meanwhile, joining an already begun session means that only the host can make those decisions and cutscenes are forced for all players.
Romantic cutscenes are automatically set to private and cannot be seen or shared with other players unless changed in the player's private settings.
Multiplayer Combat
During combat, each player's characters will have their own initiative as normal. However, when two or more characters have initiative that places them directly adjacent to one another in the turn order, then they can move at the same time.
For example, if Lae'zel and the player have a 15 and 14 and no enemies separate them in the turn order, their players can move and act at the same time.
As expected, this function can cause a slight bit of chaos. However, it opens a large amount of co-op opportunities. It is recommended to speak with your party members in real-time about how your actions should be taken to avoid double-killing the same enemy or tripping over each other's feet.
Multiplayer Mods
Mods are not supported by Larian and must come from third-party carriers. If you choose to install mods in Baldur's Gate 3, unlike many other games, Multiplayer still functions.
It is highly recommended, however, to have all members of the party installed with the same mod list. Deviating from this is known to cause catastrophic or game-breaking issues that can range from blocking inventory lists to corrupting saves to hard-closing the program.