How to Romance Characters in Baldur’s Gate 3
Romancing characters is a fan-favorite aspect of Baldur’s Gate 3 and there are so many romancing options. But it can get kind of tricky if you’re unsure how to do it.
So, if you need help with Baldur’s Gate 3 romance or just have questions about different aspects of it, this is your guide. If you need more general tips, check out my beginner’s tips here.
Get Their Approval
The approval rate of your preferred companion is by far the most important when trying to romance them. They’ll have opportunities to give you their approval at various points, whether when you make decisions, fight or just talk to them. You can keep an eye on your approval rate with each character in the character sheet.
Ask Them Questions
When in camp or elsewhere, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to talk to your companions. If you want to romance a particular one, make sure that you ask a lot of personal questions. But this is a double-edged sword as well — if they feel you’re too intrusive, they can turn on you. So make sure to save scum during conversations and reload a lot for the best option.
Asking good questions will open up more options in your dialogue and you’ll eventually get to the flirty parts.
The characters will be more open to speak with you if they like you a lot — if you have a high approval rate with them.
Side With Them
When arguing with other characters or offering their opinion on something, you should side with the character that you want to romance. This can be a bit difficult if you want to, for example, do many side quests and help people out but want to romance Lae’Zel or Astarion — they won’t approve and will suggest fighting or leaving. But if you can, try to side with your preferred companion more than with others.
Help Their Quests
Some characters come with side quests or needs that you’ll need to fullfil. For example, you’ll have to help Wyll on his quest, though I won’t mention it because of spoilers. Astarion is a vampire, so you’ll help him by being nice to him about his blood needs, and even offering yourself. Gale could explode if he doesn’t eat magical artifacts, so you should feed it to him often, etc.
Helping the characters in their quests will give you their approval and allow you to romance them much easier.
Insider Tips for Romancing Characters in Baldur’s Gate 3
- Have a vague idea who you want to romance from the beginning. You can start going for their approval and side with them from the very beginning, making things easier later. This is especially true for some characters who are harder to romance.
- Make sure to start your romance storyline(s) in Act 1. This is when you need to build those early relationships. If you don’t, you might get locked out of them in Act 2. You need to have the romance scenes in Act 1 to develop the relationship in Act 2.
- You can have two romance scenes in Act 1 before getting locked out of others. Once you have the romance scenes with two characters in Act 1, you won’t be able to get together with others.
- In most cases, you’ll have to choose in Act 2. Even if you start a polyamorous or open relationship with one of the characters that allow it, you’ll have to choose in Act 2. Halsin and some others are exceptions.
- If you want to, you can sleep with some characters (temporary) in Act 3 without causing a breakup. Like the drow twins, for example.
- Be aware that the game reads some dialogue as flirting. Even if you don’t mean to flirt. For example, if you tell Wyll to stop brooding during the tiefling party, or offer to share a bottle of wine with Shadowheart. You might just be friendly, but the game will read it as you attempting a relationship with them and some of the other characters may not want you later.
Which Characters Can You Romance in Baldur’s Gate 3?
You can romance all of the origin characters: Lae’Zel, Astarion, Shadowheart, Wyll, Karlach and Gale. In addition to that, you can romance your dream guardian, as well as the additional companions like Halsin, Jaheira, Minthara, and Minsc. If you’re inclined to do it, even the villains (like Mizura or the emperor) are available (at least for a night). You can also sleep with some side characters, like the drow twins.
Can You Have Relationships With Multiple Characters?
Yes, you can, but it depends on the characters. Halsin, Astarion, Karlach and Shadowheart will be open to an open relationship or polyamory. However, keep in mind that they also might make you choose between them and your other lovers. Karlach, for instance, or Astarion will do this in Act 2 or 3. The cap is at 2 characters at the same time.
But don’t worry — you have time in Act 1 to experience different relationships. Kissing people, at least, doesn’t lock you in a relationship, though you’ll have to break up with the person you kissed.
Which Character is The Easiest to Romance?
The easiest characters to romance are Gale and Wyll. If you do heroic and kind acts, you’ll have no problem getting their approval, and ultimately a kiss. In both cases, this will likely happen at the tiefling party once you defeat the goblins — at least, you’ll have the opportunity to do so.
With Gale, your romance will be great but without much drama since Gale doesn’t come with an additional quest. Wyll, however, has a side quest, and even if you kiss at the party, you’ll need to help him in his quest if you want a permanent relationship with him.
Which Character is The Hardest to Romance?
The hardest character to romance (of origin characters) is Shadowheart. Her side quest is pretty pertinent to the overall story, which makes it all the more complicated. You won’t be able to get into a real relationship with her before the end of Act 2, though you can certainly flirt. But if you do want to end up with her, you’ll need to play the game with that in mind. Another hard character to romance is Jaheira. But this is because her approval leans towards the more evil decisions.
Will Keeping a Character in Camp Lock You Out of Romance With Them?
If you like a character but their skills aren’t that useful to you, you’ll be more likely to keep them in camp than with your party. The number of party members is limited after all. But does that change the way you can romance them?
The short answer is no — you can still romance them. However, keep in mind that you’ll have to interact with them a lot in camp and get their approval that way. Because they’re not with you to give their approval when you make decisions, you’ll have to put in a bit more work at camp.
Can You Get Locked Out of Romance in Baldur’s Gate 3?
Yes, you can. If you romance two different characters, that is your cap (other than with Halsin) and will lock you out of other romances. You’ll have to break up with one character to romance another. But be aware that this might not work since every interaction you have and their approval could influence this. Sometimes even a high approval can’t get you in a relationship with someone.
You’ll also be locked out of switching between relationships in Act 2 — so, for example, if you start something with Astarion and Gale in Act 1, you won’t be able to switch to someone else in Act 2 and you’ll eventually be forced to choose.
How to Romance Specific Characters in Baldur’s Gate 3
Here are some quick guides on romancing specific characters in Baldur’s Gate 3. Keep in mind that the romances might not work this way exactly because your decisions, choices and dialogue could alter a lot of what happens. This is just a general guide of what happens in most cases. If you run into a tricky romance situation, I found reddit to be pretty helpful. Even just googling your specific situation can help.
How to Romance Lae’Zel
Lae’Zel approves of good fighters and aggressive decisions. You’ll have to agree with her that the Gith way of getting the tadpole out is the best choice. If you want to romance her but your decisions tend to get her disapproval, keep her at camp or at a distance. Once you get her approval high enough, you’ll be able to flirt and eventually sleep with her (the dialogue leading to that might involve something about how Gith methods are better than others).
How to Romance Shadowheart
To keep Shadowheart’s approval rate up, try to resolve conflicts with enemies with talking: persuasion, deception, etc. She doesn’t like an unnecessary fight and she doesn’t like helping people if it isn’t necessary. Don’t prod and ask too many questions — as with most characters, moderation in questioning is best.
When at camp tiefling party, offer to share a bottle of wine with her and she should agree if you have a high approval rate and haven’t flirted with others.
How to Romance Astarion
Other than keeping his approval up, you’ll need to give Astarion blood. It won’t cause you much harm, especially if you stop him on time. After that, once the goblin camp mission is complete and the tieflings throw a party at your camp, you can talk to him and if the approval rate is high enough, you’ll have an opportunity to engage in a flirty dialogue and eventually sleep together once you go for the long rest.
After that, it’s a matter of keeping it up — there are many choices that can lead to Astarion breaking up with you. Keep his personality in mind. He doesn’t like to be forced to do things he doesn’t want to do, so don’t make him; he doesn’t like to feel owned. Offer support and kindness. If you’re going for a “good” ending, make sure that you steer him in that direction.
How to Romance Gale
Keep Gale’s approval up by being kind and doing good things. Interact with him often and make sure you keep him supplied on magical artifacts so he’s happy and doesn’t — well, explode. Once you get to the tiefling party, you can talk to Gale and he’ll likely offer to show you some magic later that night. Accept and then go to sleep for a romance cutscene.
Gale is pretty uncomplicated and very monogamous, so keep that in mind. He’ll be sweet and supportive, and there’s not much drama in that relationship if you don’t create it.
How to Romance Wyll
To romance Wyll, you’ll need to get his approval rate up by performing heroic acts and being noble. Unlike Gale, however, he prefers fighting to solving things with Intelligence. You can romance him by getting him to open up about his glass eye or Mizura. Working with him on killing the goblin leaders will get you to the romance bit much faster too (he hates goblins).
At tiefling party, you can go to him and tell him not to brood, to go have fun, and you might get a dance scene with him.
How to Romance Karlach
To get Karlach to approve, be a good fighter and show strength, as well as free slaves because she was once a slave. Be blunt and heroic — she doesn’t have a taste for deception. Follow her companion quest and make sure that you offer to spend more time with her. She’s not so secretive and closed off, so it won’t be hard to form a bond with her. At first, she’ll be mostly flirty but will develop deeper feelings later.
Final Thoughts
Romance is fun but in Baldur’s Gate 3, it can get a little tricky. My main advice would be to just relax and see where it takes you. The more you focus on one character, the more likely they will be available. No guide is definitive because there are so many options and each choice you make can take you in a different direction. So, try to experience it for what it is and if you don’t like the outcome — well, there’s always another run.
