Baldur's Gate 3: How Does Advantage & Disadvantage Work?

There are many mechanics present in Baldur's Gate 3 that might be confusing to some players, especially those who are not well versed in 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons. With the game being entirely dependent on dice rolls, learning how to manipulate the luck to be in your favor is going to be a great skill for your journey across Faerun. In this article, we are going to go over the Advantage and Disadvantage mechanics, what they are and how you can use them to create better opportunities for yourself in Baldur's Gate 3.

What is Advantage in Baldur's Gate 3?

Advantage and Disadvantage are mechanics that significantly impact the success of D20 rolls (rolling a dice with 20 sides), including Attack Rolls, Saving Throws, and Ability Checks. It's important to note that these mechanics don't apply to Damage Rolls, although certain features may allow re-rolls for damage in different ways.

Having Advantage means that you will be throwing two D20's and using the higher roll from the two dice. As an example, if you roll an 18 and a 6, your result will be the 18. Having Advantage will greatly increase the success chance of your rolls over time.

Outside of dialogue options, you can also have Advantage during combat encounters. Situations granting Advantage on attack rolls include attacking a restrained, prone, sleeping, entangled, paralyzed, off-balance, enwebbed, or blinded enemy, as well as attacking from a hidden or invisible position. Certain armor, weapons, and spells may also provide advantage to your attack rolls.

It is also worth noting that multiple sources of Advantage do not stack, you will only ever be able to roll two D20s.

What is Disadvantage in Baldur's Gate 3?

With Disadvantage, you roll two dice and use the lower result. Like Advantage, you either have disadvantage or you don't. It doesn't stack, and you won't roll more than a second die, regardless of the number of sources of disadvantage.

Using the same example we had above if you have Disadvantage and you roll an 18 and a 6, your result will be the 6.

Situations granting Disadvantage on attack rolls include attempting a ranged attack against an enemy within 5ft, making you threatened, or encountering various spells and abilities that impose disadvantage. Having both Advantage and Disadvantage just cancels out both effects and it does not matter if you have more instances of either.

That covers everything you need to know about how Advantage and Disadvantage work in Baldur's Gate 3. Hopefully this guide has helped you increase the success rate of your dice rolls in the world of Faerun. For more Baldur's Gate 3 guides and news, check out the rest of our website!