Best places to go first in Baldur’s Gate 3

Once you start your adventure you’ve suddenly got a lot of things you could do. So, here are the best places to go first in Baldur’s Gate 3.

There are tons of places to explore and little secrets to find. And some of them can be a little tricky to discover if you’re just starting out. Here’s where you should check out first.

Baldur’s Gate 3: Best places to go at the start

Check out the map below for the locations and order of areas that I’ll be going through. They’re ordered by their level of difficulty, so it’s recommended you visit these places in this order. The overall best places to go to first in Baldur’s Gate 3 are the Emerald Grove, Refectory, Blighted Village, Owlbear Nest, and Risen Road.

1) The Hollow/Emerald Grove

The Hollow and Emerald Grove are the best starting places to visit first in Baldur’s Gate 3. These areas will likely contain your first meeting with traders. And there are also a ton of quests to grab here.

Additionally, you can recruit Wyll to your party if you need a Warlock’s helping hand. The main story progression will likely bring you here anyway, but before doing anything else, make the Emerald Grove your first visit.

2) Refectory

The Refectory lies to the southeast of the Emerald Grove and offers up some good loot. The trade-off is the band of bandits lurking within that you’ll need to deal with. But this location ends up being great for both earning experience and finding some good stuff.

I’d recommend you wait until you’re level 3 before coming here. In my playthrough, I got here around level 2 and the fight was quite challenging. However, if you want a decent challenge, feel free to come here whenever you want.

Related: How to examine enemy weaknesses and resistances in Baldur’s Gate 3

3) The Blighted Village

Now this is a really rough area. Goblins have moved into this village and made a mess of things. But you don’t need to fight them if you can persuade them to let you through. But even if that doesn’t work they aren’t the toughest enemies around so you shouldn’t have much trouble with them. Either way, once you can explore the village you’ve got a lot of places to find loot.

You can even find a way to a cave that eventually leads to the Underdark. So make sure you search everywhere you can in this village because there’s some really good stuff here. You’ll eventually come through here on the quest to rescue Halsin, but coming through a little earlier won’t matter much. It’s not a very nice place but is one of the best starting places in Baldur’s Gate 3.

4) Owlbear Nest

This location offers up one of the first boss encounters you can find in the world. And the Owlbear is no pushover. It’s level 3 and has 91 HP, which may not seem like a big deal. But if you’re coming here at level 2 and without a full party, this encounter will be rough.

The Owlbear isn’t the only thing to find in here though and it’s entirely optional. There’s also a chest you can access that requires you to solve a very small puzzle. So even if you don’t plan on fighting the Owlbear, coming here for the chest is well worth it. If you want a stiff challenge and good loot, this is also one of the best starting places in Baldur’s Gate 3.

5) The Risen Road

The Risen Road lies to the west of Emerald Grove and can be accessed by going through the Blighted Village. This area is recommended for players that are at least level 3 since there are some tough fights up here against Gnolls. If you’ve got Wyll with you, you should have a quest that requires you to head up this way. And if you don’t have Wyll, you should head here anyway for a chance at recruiting Karlach.

These are just some of the starting areas you can find in Baldur’s Gate 3. But if you’re just starting and feeling a little overwhelmed, check out each of these spots first. Just remember to save frequently so you don’t end up having to redo progress after an unlucky encounter.

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Baldur’s Gate 3 is available on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.