Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition: Complete Guide
This guide is for new and returning players of Beamdog's Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition. It covers AD&D 2nd Edition rules in plain English, party building, the chapter route, Tales of the Sword Coast, Siege of Dragonspear, and mods and fixes after patch 2.7.
Researched September 2026 — current as of patch 2.7 (released 23 June 2026). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.
Quick Start
- Lower AC and lower THAC0 are better. AD&D 2E counts backwards. Armour Class 0 beats AC 5, and THAC0 is the roll you need to hit AC 0, so the lower it is the more you hit.
- Pause constantly. Combat is real-time with pause. Space pauses, and in the options you can auto-pause when enemies appear, when spells finish, and so on. Turn those on.
- Level 1 is brutally fragile. A single hit can kill a mage. Keep casters in the back, buy armour for the front line, and don't explore wide open areas until you have a full party.
- Hold Tab. It highlights items, containers and exits. Loot is easy to miss without it.
- Rest often, but in safe spots. Spells come back after resting. Inns are safe. Resting outdoors can trigger ambushes.
- Keep your Reputation high. It changes shop prices and party banter. Some companions leave if it goes too high or too low, and paladins and rangers lose their status if they do evil things. Temple donations raise it.
- Save before every talk, door and trap. Quicksave early and often, using several slots.
- Build a balanced party of six: a tank, a healer, a thief for traps and locks, an arcane caster and ranged damage.
- Siege of Dragonspear is separate. It's the optional DLC that bridges into Baldur's Gate II. Its regular price dropped to $9.99 in August 2025.
What's in the Enhanced Edition
- The original Baldur's Gate campaign plus the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion (Durlag's Tower, Ulgoth's Beard, Balduran's Isle and the Ice Island).
- The Black Pits, a standalone arena mode of tactical fights.
- New companions: Neera (wild mage), Dorn Il-Khan (blackguard) and Rasaad yn Bashir (monk), with their own quests.
- 11 classes with dozens of kits, widescreen and high-resolution support, and thousands of fixes.
- Difficulty runs from Story Mode, where you can't die, to Legacy of Bhaal, which buffs enemies heavily and is meant for veterans.
Patch 2.7 Notes (June 2026)
- Steam Cloud saves are now controlled from the Steam client (game Properties) instead of the in-game Gameplay options.
- Native Apple Silicon support, easier mobile modding and file transfers.
- Community translations. Siege of Dragonspear adds Chinese Simplified, Korean (about 89% complete at release) and Russian.
- When you switch to Siege of Dragonspear, only languages it supports are shown. If your language isn't supported, it switches to English.
- A fix for an off-by-one error in rebuilt BIF files that affected some community modding tools.
- If English text was stuck in ALL CAPS after the 2.7 beta, delete
Baldur.lua in Documents\Baldur's Gate - Enhanced Edition, or remove its STONESML font lines.
Beamdog has said it won't update the console versions any more. PC and mobile are the supported platforms.
Character Creation
Classes at a Glance
| Class |
Role |
Notes |
| Fighter |
Tank / melee damage |
The best weapon proficiencies. It's the easiest class to learn with. |
| Paladin |
Tank / support |
Needs high Charisma. It falls if Reputation drops or it acts evil. |
| Ranger |
Melee / archery |
Dual wielding and stealth. It falls on evil acts. |
| Cleric |
Healer / buffer |
Blunt weapons only. It has great buffs (Bless, Chant, Protection from Evil). |
| Druid |
Caster / shapeshifter |
Nature spells. Leveling works differently. |
| Mage |
Arcane caster |
Very fragile. It learns spells from scrolls. Sleep and Magic Missile carry the early game. |
| Sorcerer |
Arcane caster |
Casts spontaneously from fewer known spells. It's strong once you pick good spells. |
| Thief |
Traps, locks, backstabs |
Your party needs one. Put points into Find Traps and Open Locks. |
| Bard |
Support / jack of all trades |
Songs, arcane spells, some thief skills. |
| Monk |
Unarmed melee |
AC and fist damage improve with level. |
| Shaman |
Spirit caster |
Dances to summon spirits, and casts spontaneously. |
Races: Human, Elf, Half-Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Halfling, Half-Orc. Humans can dual-class, stopping one class to start another. Demi-humans can multi-class, levelling two or three classes at once with split XP. A Fighter/Mage or Fighter/Thief multi-class is strong and easy to play.
Ability Scores
You roll STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS and CHA. You can reroll as many times as you like. High Dexterity improves AC and missile attacks. Fighter types need 18 Strength (exceptional Strength matters). Constitution above 16 only gives extra HP bonuses to warrior classes. Charisma mostly affects prices and reactions, so give it to your party leader.
Proficiencies Worth Taking
- Frontliners: Long Sword or Bastard Sword, plus a missile weapon (bows are great in BG1).
- Everyone who can should carry a sling, dart or bow. Much of BG1 plays better at range.
Companions
Your party holds up to six, including you. Some companions come in pairs and leave if you turn one of them away.
| Companion(s) |
Class/role |
Where |
| Imoen |
Thief |
Joins just outside Candlekeep after Gorion's death |
| Xzar and Montaron |
Necromancer + fighter/thief |
On the road east of Candlekeep |
| Jaheira and Khalid |
Fighter/druid + fighter |
Friendly Arm Inn, first floor |
| Ajantis |
Paladin |
The area just north of the Friendly Arm Inn |
| Minsc |
Ranger (with Boo) |
Nashkel. He wants you to rescue Dynaheir |
| Dynaheir |
Invoker |
Gnoll Stronghold |
| Edwin |
Conjurer (evil) |
Nashkel, by the southern bridge. He wants Dynaheir dead, so he clashes with Minsc |
| Kagain |
Dwarven fighter |
Beregost, the shop north of the Feldepost Inn |
| Garrick |
Bard |
Beregost, Burning Wizard Inn |
| Shar-Teel |
Fighter (evil) |
East of Beregost |
| Branwen |
Cleric |
Nashkel Carnival (turned to stone, so you need to cure her) |
| Safana |
Thief |
Northwest of Nashkel, near the lighthouse |
| Xan |
Enchanter |
Nashkel Mines, bottom level |
| Kivan |
Ranger |
High Hedge |
| Viconia |
Drow cleric |
Peldvale |
| Coran |
Fighter/thief |
Cloakwood |
| Eldoth and Faldorn |
Bard + druid |
Cloakwood (Faldorn at the druid shrine) |
| Yeslick |
Dwarven fighter/cleric |
Cloakwood Mines, level 2 |
| Alora |
Thief |
Hall of Wonders, Baldur's Gate |
| Quayle |
Cleric/illusionist |
By the Baldur's Gate drawbridge |
| Skie |
Thief |
Entar Silvershield's estate, Baldur's Gate |
| Tiax |
Cleric/thief |
Southwest Baldur's Gate, near the Flaming Fist HQ |
| Neera, Dorn, Rasaad |
Enhanced Edition characters with their own questlines |
Various, from early in the game |
Good all-round party: you plus Imoen, Jaheira, Khalid, Minsc and Dynaheir. It covers every role, and the pairs keep each other happy. Evil parties usually build around Edwin, Viconia, Kagain and Xzar/Montaron.
Chapter Walkthrough Outline
| Chapter |
Main beats |
Key fight |
| Prologue |
Candlekeep. Leave with Gorion, then the ambush on the road |
Survive it |
| 1 |
Friendly Arm Inn, Beregost, Nashkel. The iron crisis begins |
|
| 2 |
Nashkel Mines, and why the iron is tainted |
Mulahey |
| 3 |
Bandit trouble. The Bandit Camp |
Tazok |
| 4 |
Cloakwood Forest and the Cloakwood Mines |
Davaeorn |
| 5 |
The city of Baldur's Gate opens up. Investigate the Iron Throne |
|
| 6 |
Candlekeep again, and the catacombs below |
|
| 7 |
Return to the city, then the Undercity finale |
Sarevok |
Tips per chapter:
- Chapters 1–2: Do side quests around Beregost and Nashkel to reach levels 3 and 4 before the mines. Kobolds with fire arrows hurt, so fight them in corridors.
- Early chapters: The iron crisis means ordinary non-magical weapons can break. Carry a spare and replace broken ones; it stops being a problem as the iron plot is resolved later in the story.
- Chapter 5: The city has a huge amount of side content. Spend time here before pushing the main story.
- Chapter 7: Point of no return. Finish Tales of the Sword Coast and anything else you want before the final descent.
Tales of the Sword Coast
You can start it once you've reached the relevant areas, usually after mid-game. Ulgoth's Beard is the hub. Durlag's Tower is one of the hardest dungeons in the series, full of traps, riddles and a Demon Knight, so bring a strong thief and save often. Balduran's Isle has werewolves, so bring magical weapons.
Siege of Dragonspear (DLC)
It begins after the fight with Sarevok. It's a full campaign that leads straight into Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition, and you can bring your character across.
Combat and Spells
- Early arcane picks: Sleep, Magic Missile, Chromatic Orb, Blindness, Identify (it saves a lot of gold). At higher levels: Web, Stinking Cloud, Mirror Image and Melf's Acid Arrow.
- Early divine picks: Bless, Protection from Evil, Remove Fear, Cure Light Wounds, and later Chant and Hold Person.
- Buff before you open doors. Area buffs last long enough for the fight behind a door.
- Crowd control wins fights. Sleep and Web on groups, then shoot the helpless enemies.
- Watch for poison and paralysis. Carry Antidotes and Potions of Healing on everyone.
- Magical weapons matter. Some enemies need +1 or better to hit. Keep at least one enchanted weapon per frontliner as soon as you can afford it.
Gear Notes
- Ankheg shells: Bring one to the Thunderhammer Smithy in Beregost and pay to get Ankheg Plate Mail made. It's an early armour upgrade.
- Magical arrows and bolts are your best damage in BG1. Stock up in every city.
- Identify unknown items with the spell or at a shop before you equip them. Some are cursed.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Letting companions die without resurrection money. Temples raise the dead for a fee, so keep gold for it.
- Walking into traps. Keep your thief out front with Find Traps on, and Disarm what it finds.
- Stacking all melee. Enemies with bows and spells punish a party that has to walk to them.
- Ignoring Reputation. Killing innocents or stealing openly drops it, and eventually you're hunted.
- Going deep into dungeons at level 1–2. Level up on side quests first.
- Modding without a clean backup. Always mod a fresh copy and write down your install order.
Advanced Tips
- Pre-buff with potions. Potions of Heroism, Invulnerability and similar can turn boss fights around.
- Pull enemies back to a corridor where your ranged characters and spells can hit them one at a time.
- Use scripts carefully. AI scripts on companions help in trash fights. Turn them off for bosses so casters don't waste spells.
- Carry your save forward. BG:EE, Siege of Dragonspear and BG2:EE form one long campaign. Keep your final save if you plan to continue.
- Popular mods (installed with WeiDU): Sword Coast Stratagems (smarter AI), Tweaks Anthology (quality-of-life options), the BG1 NPC Project (companion banter) and EET, which combines BG:EE and BG2:EE into one game. After a big patch like 2.7, check that each mod supports it before installing.
FAQ
Do I need to play Baldur's Gate 3 first, or the other way round?
No. BG1 and BG2 are a separate earlier saga, though Minsc, Jaheira and others come back in BG3.
What does the Enhanced Edition add?
Neera, Dorn, Rasaad, the Black Pits, widescreen, new classes and kits, fixes, and Story Mode and Legacy of Bhaal difficulties.
Is Siege of Dragonspear required?
No, but it connects BG1 and BG2 and is included in the trilogy flow. It's $9.99 after the 2025 price change.
How do I turn on Steam Cloud saves after patch 2.7?
Through the Steam client: right-click the game, open Properties, and toggle Steam Cloud there.
What class is easiest for a first run?
A Fighter, or a Fighter/Mage or Fighter/Thief multi-class. They're durable and simple, and the companions cover everything else.
Why do my weapons keep breaking?
That's the iron crisis in the early chapters. Carry spares, or use magical weapons, which don't break. It ends as the plot moves on.
Sources