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Nattering on with random NPCs in Baldur’s Gate 3 is a huge part of the game – which shouldn’t be surprising considering it’s an RPG. Chatting with folk will progress the story, expand the world, introduce characters, and generally involve a lot of humming and harring. It’s a good time well worth investing in.
That being said, Baldur’s Gate 3 is also a party-based game, so whilst one guy is having a bit of a chin-wag, the rest of your party is free to do what they want (for the most part). In this guide we are going to go over how you can do that, and more importantly, why you would want to do that in the first place.
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How To Change Characters Mid-Conversation In Baldur’s Gate 3
Changing characters mid-conversation is as simple as looking at the bottom left of your screen while talking to someone. You will see a few options, one of which lets you change your character. This will have no impact on your conversation, but it will allow someone to talk to a character whilst your party does other things.
The button you are looking for is the second from left. Left-clicking on this button will bring up a portrait menu. Click on the character you want to control and you will zip to them instantly. If you want to go back to the conversation, all you have to do is take control over the character who instigated the interaction.
Nearly all conversations have the option to change characters, but not all of them. You will find that many scenes that contain major narrative beats will restrict this option. The same can be said for some boss fights. For the most part, however, you are free to swap away.
Benefits Of Changing Characters Mid-Conversation
Now we know how to do it, it’s time to look at the benefits. Firstly and most sneakily is pickpocketing. Characters who are locked in conversations can’t change their orientation. This makes it incredibly easy to get a character like Asterion behind them to instigate some sleight of hand.
This is the easiest way to rob someone blind. Do be aware that if you fail your pickpocketing attempt the conversation you were having will be cancelled and the thief confronted. Whilst we wouldn’t dare suggest you save scum, we would also not judge you if you did some temporal tomfoolery to ensure your crimes were successful.
Following on from that, general crimes are far easier to do when someone is distracted. For example, if you want to loot a place and people are standing around, feel free to distract them with a simple conversation. You would be amazed at how many situations can be made easier if you misdirect hapless NPCs.
Finally, we have combat. Combat in Baldur’s Gate 3 can get very difficult and buffing your characters during combat is not particularly effective. This is where conversation buffing comes into play. If a fight is about to break out, you can swap to your buffing characters, apply all of your buffs before the fight starts, and then jump back to your main character.
You can also use this technique to get your characters into advantageous positions, enter Stealth, and generally manipulate the battle to start in your favour. This is incredibly powerful and should be used whenever possible.
That’s all we have for Baldur’s Gate 3 for now. Be sure to check out our other guides and lists for more Baldur’s Gate content.
